A Hardy Tale
by Lucy Grayson
Summary: Matt Hardy's in, Jeff Hardy's out. It's up to an old friend to pull them back together, but is she pulling herself apart in the process? Please R n R! :D Rated for language.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own WWE or any of it's superstars. I do not own any of the music in this story. No copyright infringement is intended.

This is set in no particular time zone, though I would say it would be a quite recent one. It incorporates the history of the characters, but does not make a huge deal out of them. I'll settle on saying it is set in it's own timeline and these events, whilst staying as true as possible to the current circumstances, are ones I've come up with on my own.

1...2...3. The capacity NYC crowd exploded in cheers and screams as Matt Hardy rose to his feet, fists raised in he air. He was exhausted and he looked it, the match had been a long one and brutal by anyone's standards. His eyes flicked through the front of the crowd as if looking for something, but he turned away, his attention focusing on the other side of the arena as he launched himself onto the top turnbuckle. He lifted his arm high, giving his signature hand signal to riotous applause and many camera flashes.

The steel chair caught him off guard as it slammed against his lower back, sending him reeling off the turnbuckle and onto the mat. He pulled his knees up in pain, his face screwed up. He felt a boot connect with his side and jerked away from it. He then felt his head being pummelled by strong forearms and lifted his hands to cover himself.

The crowd had grown quiet, buzzing angrily in the background, but a sudden shock seemed to ripple through them and he felt it. A fan, dressed head to toe in blue denim, right down the baseball cap pulled down to hide the face, had jumped the barrier and charged into the ring. Chris Jericho, who had been behind the attack, jumped back in shock. He seemed unsure of what to do. Though he couldn't see the fan's face, he could tell the guy was slight, not built like a wrestler, so he didn't want to man-handle him and end up getting sued or worse, fired.

Instead, he slipped out of the ring and backed off, putting reasonable distance between himself and this fanatic observer. The fan had not looked up. Just stood, face turned in Jericho's direction and the threat was there, something aggressive in the stance. Without a word or a signal, the denim clad body turned and approach Matt, who was still curled up on the mat.

He opened his eyes and looked up, his brown eyes meeting with navy blue and he lifted an eyebrow, before holding his hand out.

"You took your time."

He felt the strong grip enclose his hand and yank him unceremoniously to his feet. He turned to look at Jericho, whose face was now a very clear mask of confusion. He had no idea what was going on. Nor did the crowd. They were quiet again, whispering amongst themselves. Matt smirked and turned to the back of the ring. He leaned over and motioned for Lilian to hand him the microphone. She did, eagerly, just as curious as everyone else.

He took the mic and then returned to the centre of the ring, looking around him for a long moment, his denim clad companion simply stood looking at him from under that baseball cap. He opened his mouth after a pregnant pause; "Jericho! You didn't like getting beat, so you jumped me from behind. Okay. I can understand that." He shrugged, his tone entirely conversational for the moment. "What you seem to forget, is that in the WWE, there is always someone watching! And unluckily for you, my good friend here decided not to sit by and watch you attack me."

He moved to lay an arm across his companion's shoulders in a brotherly fashion. Jericho frowned, frozen where he was. His curiosity unshakable. Again the crowd were silent, wondering who was underneath that cap. If it were a fan, security would have been in an removed him by now, not just let him stand in there. What was going on?

"Jericho, I bet you'd like to meet the person, whose very presence tonight drove you from the ring!" It was a taunt and Chris knew it, but he didn't care. He bared his teeth as he was supposed to, but it took more effort than usual to keep the smirk off his face. He watched with bright eyes at Matt turned, lowering the microphone and gripped the edge of the baseball cap. He could be seen saying something, seeming to ask a question of his friend, before smirking again.

He suddenly pulled the cap off and collective gasp rang through the arena. Whatever they'd been expecting, it wasn't that…


	2. Chapter 2

The long black hair fell in a cascade and it was almost impossible to believe that it had all been contained underneath the cap, giving off a noticeable hint of blue as the light hit it. It fell in messy waves about a face that was quite obviously female. The woman was smirking in a self-satisfied manner, her navy eyes alight with the adrenalin of standing in that ring, knowing she had surprised ever single member of the packed-out audience. Her face was quite striking, her skin was very pale, curving lightly over high cheekbones. Her mouth was perfectly proportioned to hold the smirk that sat there.

Her figure was difficult to distinguish underneath the starched, bulky denim that she was wearing. The jeans were baggy and the jacket sat in an entirely gender neutral form. Her eyes were locked on Chris Jericho who was glaring right back at her. She flicked her eyes to Matt, who nodded and without another word, they both headed out of the ring. They stalked towards Jericho with clear intent, but he high tailed up the ramp and they quickly followed.

Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler's commentary was a refection of the shock reverberating around the arena. 

_Who was that?! _

_I have no idea! But Matt Hardy certainly seemed quite familiar with her!_

_Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see if we hear more from this unexpected arrival._

_You bet! _

Backstage, Matt was laughing, clutching his sides and leaning on the wall, whilst Chris Jericho stood with his arms folded, waiting for his colleague to calm down. "Your face! Oh my god! Chris, it was a picture!'

Chris punched him on the top of the arm, scowling slightly, but there was clear amusement in his face. "You jackass! Why didn't you warn me?!"

Matt was still laughing. There was no sign of the woman who had interrupted their match. It took Matt several minutes to calm down and when he finally did, he slapped Chris on the back, still chuckling lightly. "Sorry. Vince swore me to secrecy."

Chris scrunched his nose up in a way that suggested irritation. He shook his head and went back to folding his arms as Matt finally detached himself from the wall and they headed to see the trainer, both of them having received quite a beating from the other. They sat opposite each other as their injuries were tended to and Chris began slowly unwrapping the support from his wrist. He looked at Matt and lifted his eyebrows.

"So, who is she?"

Matt looked over at him, wincing a little as the trainer prodded at the small cut on the side of his face. "Her name's Sevina. She's the new diva. Good friend." Jericho shook his head a little and was given the all clear to go. He stood up and looked at Matt. "Oh so you got her the job?"

Matt looked insulted on behalf of his friend and shook his head fervently. "Hell no. She did that on her own."

Chris shrugged and then waved idly and wandered out. Matt had to sit for a while with the trainer. His high flying techniques meant that he tended to end up with more injuries than the average mat wrestler and Chris Jericho was hardly average.

When he was finally released he went to grab a shower and change out of his ring gear. The locker room was buzzing and he was bombarded with questions from the minute he walked in. He managed to convince the others to let him shower in peace, but as soon as he emerged they started again. He told them no more or less than he had told Chris and made his excuses to leave as quickly as possible.

He grabbed his duffel bag and headed down to the women's locker room. He knocked on the door and waited. He was surprised when Melina answered with a huge grin on her face. "Hey Matt! Girls, it's Matt Hardy!"

There was the unmistakable sound of female laughter from within and Matt's eyebrows rose towards his hairline. Melina opened her mouth to speak again, but the door opened fully and Sevina was stood there. She stood a little taller than Melina and shook her head at her, smiling with clear amusement. "I'll catch you guys tomorrow!" She called back over her shoulder to the other women and then nudged Melina out of the way with her bag, before slipping out of the dressing room.

She was now dressed in a pair of black bondage pants and a fitted red t-shirt. It was apparent that she was curvy, her hips flared a little wider than most of the other divas and nipped in to a small waist. The t-shirt did nothing to hide her ample chest, but Matt was looking at her face, a slightly reproachful expression on his own. "What have you been saying about me?"

Sevina laughed and shook her head. Her hair, which was now pulled into a high ponytail, swung from side to side. "Wouldn't you like to know. Come on. I'm starving."

Her accent hinted a slight southern lilt, but it wasn't as pronounced at Matt's. He was not happy to just let her get away with that answer, but her words made him aware that he was also very hungry. "Yeah, me too. Shannon's gonna meet us at the restaurant." Sevina's face lit up happily. Matt's hyper-active friend was a firm favourite of hers. They had gotten on very well from the first time they had met and she was glad that he came out to see them so often. Since Matt had been drafted to Raw, the travelling schedule was more intense and he'd been worried that he wouldn't see his friends as much, but Shannon and Shane made a point to come see them as often as they could.

"Is Shane coming too?" Matt shook his head, leading the way out to the car. "No. Family stuff." Sevina nodded and clambered into the front seat of Matt's brand new Wrangler. She threw her bag into the back seat and relaxed into the seat, closing her eyes and rolling her shoulders slightly.

Matt glanced at her, then started the engine, pulling out carefully. He motioned to the stereo and Sevina took the hint. She flicked it on and the familiar sound of Pearl Jam began to seep out of the speakers. 


	3. Chapter 3

The restaurant was a favourite of a lot of the superstars and Sevina found herself being introduced to everybody. It was difficult, trying to remember names, having known most of them only by their in-ring identities and she felt a pang of exasperation that Vince had decided to keep her identity and debut a complete secret. Shannon was his usual chatty self and took the lead in the introductions. The main question seemed to be how she had met Matt.

She must have explained a hundred times that she had moved to Cameron from Raleigh when she was sixteen and had met Matt in the Indy wrestling circuit. Another regular question was whether they were dating or not. The first time this got asked, both Matt and Sevina had choked on their drinks and burst out laughing, much to the bemusement of their enraptured interviewers. The answer to that one was a resounding 'no'.

The night wore on and Sevina could feel herself getting tired. They had to catch a plane to Chicago in the morning, so she excused herself early and got a taxi back to the hotel, whilst the guys hung out. She changed and climbed into her bed, with a smile on her face. The memory of the expressions on the fan's faces was one that would never leave her and she had to admit, even by the highest standards, that had been on hell of an in-ring debut. She knew that it would be revealed over the next few weeks that she had been ever present in the background for the past six months, leaving the locker room, talking to the lighting staff, hanging around in the rec room. Just a meaningless face in the distance, but always there.

She yawned widely and flicked the light off, curling into a ball and drifting into a dreamless sleep. She was sure she'd get a good night's rest and be fully recharged for the flight the next day.

So when her eyes opened suddenly and it was still dark, she was extremely confused. At first she wasn't sure what had woken her, then she recognised the insistent theme of Live for the Moment coming from her cell and silently cursed Matt for changing her ring tone again.

She glanced at the clock on the dresser and swore. It was five-thirty. She grabbed her phone and looked at the number. It wasn't one she recognised. She hit the answer button and fell back onto her pillows. "This better be good."

"Nice to talk to you too, Kid."

"Jeff?"

Sevina was suddenly wide awake and she sat up in bed.

"The one and only."

"Why the hell are you calling me at five-thirty in the morning?"

There was clear amusement in Jeff's voice when he replied. "Sorry, time difference."

"Uh-huh. Sure. What do you want?"

"Well, you're charming this morning."

Sevina groaned and rubbed a hand down her face, falling down onto the bed again.

"Jeff!"

Her voice was more of a whine than anything and she heard laughter from the other end of the line.

"I just wondered if it would be okay for me to come and see you guys tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

Sevina frowned a little.

"Yes, tomorrow. Well…today actually."

"Aren't you working?"

"I'll explain that later. So, is it cool?"

Sevina shook her head, trying to clear it of sleep and quickly went over her schedule in her mind.

"Um, yeah that should be fine. We'll be getting in-"

"I know. I already talked to Matt."

"You already talked to him! So, why are you calling me?!"

"Because it amuses me."

Sevina growled and hung up the phone with the sound of Jeff's laughter ringing in her ears. She threw the phone across the room and pulled the blankets over her head. She shut her eyes, trying to get back to sleep, whilst silently promising to shave Jeff's head when she saw him.

It took her about an hour to realise that she wasn't going to be able to fall back to sleep again. Swearing and complaining, she dragged herself out of bed and into the shower. After a strong coffee and a bagel, she felt a little better, but it was still only 7am. She chewed her lip, they didn't have to leave for the airport until 9.

She procrastinated for a while about whether to leave her room or just sulk and send Jeff abusive text messages. In the end, she decided to go down to the gym and get in a quick workout. Most of the other superstars were still in bed, having enjoyed their time in NYC as much as possible the night before. She had the space almost to herself, she didn't really noticed the spattering of other people dotted about as she moved to the punch bag.

She was in a good headspace and totally focused on what she was doing, so the feel of a hand tapping her on the shoulder nearly made her jump out of her skin. She turned sharply to see Chris Jericho looking at her with amusement on his face. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't. Well…you did, but it's okay. Hi…Sevina."

She held out her hand and he shook it. He didn't bother telling her his name, knowing she already knew it. She pulled her hand back and folded her arms loosely. "I'm really sorry we didn't tell you about last night. Vince was really adamant about it."

Chris shook off her apology, not seeming at all bothered by the shock interruption. "It's cool. A shock, but no problem. Vince likes to keep us on our toes. So, you're travelling with us?"

Sevina nodded, shifting her weight into a more comfortable position. "Yeah. Big ol' storyline all set up." Chris laughed and nodded, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "So, are you and Hardy…?" He let the question hang there and Sevina laughed, shaking her head.

"Definitely not. We're friends." Chris nodded, then turned his head as someone called his name. He rolled his eyes and looked back at Sevina. "Sorry to shoot so quickly. It was good to meet you. See you in Chicago."

He waved as he ran off to answer his summons. Sevina stood chewing her lip thoughtfully, then spotted Matt ambling through the door. She took advantage of the fact that she hadn't seen her to throw her gloves at his head. He let out a surprisingly girly squeak and looked at her with a hurt expression. "What was that for?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, then shrugged. "You need to control your brother." Understanding dawned on Matt's face and he snorted with laughter, wandering over to her. "Yeah, you try that sometime and see how far you get. What time did he call you?"

"Five-thirty! I didn't even know there _was _a five-thirty in the morning!"

Her complaints made Matt laugh again and he shook his head at her, before moving to hold the punch bag for her.


	4. Chapter 4

**They arrived in Chicago with the minimal fuss. They stopped to sign a few autographs for the die-hard fans who had come to meet them and then headed for the cars. It was winter so naturally it was freezing. Sevina pulled her parka coat tighter around her the noticed that their limo was surrounded by teenage girls. She looked at Matt who had an exasperated expression on his face. "Cant he wait **_**inside **_**the car? Just once?"**

**Sevina suddenly understood what the commotion was about as she spotted a flash of multi-coloured hair in the midst of the rabble. She rolled her eyes, amused and pulled her hood up. She wasn't well enough known to get too much hassle, but given the high profile entrance she had made the previous night, she didn't want to draw too much attention to herself.**

**The gaggle of girls turned, spotting Matt and high pitched squealing suddenly filled the air. Sevina winced and stuck her tongue out at Matt who was glowering at her as she slipped away and into the car. She sat back against the long, leather seat and watched through the tinted windows as Matt and Jeff were swamped. No-one had seen them out together in quite a while so the attention reached fever point before the minders and the driver finally stepped in to release them.**

**When they eventually dived into the safety of the car, Sevina was curled up on the seat giggling. Jeff threw himself down next to her like a man avoiding a bomb blast and this only succeeded in setting her laughter off even more. She looked at him with overly large, adoring eyes and draped herself across his slouched body. "Oh Jeff! I am so in love with you! Please sign every exposed part of my body! I'll even get some more out if you like! I want your babies! Marry me!"**

**Jeff went very still and Sevina knew this was the only warning she was going to get before he suddenly grabbed her and spun so that she was half pinned against the seat and began to tickle her mercilessly. Matt found this extremely amusing and ignored Sevina's high pitched screams for help.**

**It took about fifteen minutes before Jeff finally relented and released his captive. He moved casually away from her and reached into the onboard refrigerator and pulled out a can of soda. Sevina was half laying on the seat, half slumped on the floor, trying to catch her breath. She aimed a kick at the back of Jeff's leg, but it was lame at best and he just lifted an eyebrow at her, smirking before he sat down again.**

**The rest of the journey to the hotel was spent just talking. Friendship between the three of them had always been easy. Jeff talked non-stop the entire car ride, but didn't really seem to say anything and Sevina and Matt shared a slightly worried look. Not once had he mentioned why he was here and not at work. **

**When they arrived at the hotel Sevina handed Jeff the key to her room. "We have to go to a meet and greet. We'll be a couple of hours. Order room service and don't buy any dirty movies!" Jeff made a noise of disappointment, then smirked and wandered off whilst Matt and Sevina headed off to meet the fans. **

**Sevina was nervous. She'd only made one official appearance and she wasn't sure how she'd be received. She knew how to answer the many questions that headed her way and knew not to be too friendly. They didn't know if she was going to be a face or a heel yet, so she had to keep an emotional distance. It went better than she'd hoped. Matt helped make her feel more at ease by occasionally kicking her under the table, whilst maintaining an innocent expression.**

**It went by in a flash and Sevina felt slightly regretful that she hadn't paused to take it in more, but she knew there would be more. Many, many more. When she arrived at her room, having left Matt in the bar, she looked around for Jeff, but he was nowhere in sight. "Jeff? You here?"**

**No answer. She frowned, then shrugged and headed for the bathroom. The scream that she let out, followed by a bellow from Jeff was enough to raise the dead and she ran back into her room, with her hands over her eyes. Jeff stumbled out a few moments later, in the process of wrapping a towel around his waist. "Don't you knock?"**

"**Don't you lock the door?! My eyes! Quick, find something sharp so I can cut them out!"**

**She peeked through her fingers to make sure he was covered, then lowered her hands and rested her hands on her hips. Jeff shook his head, sending droplets of water flying from his hair. "Y'know, I should probably be offended by that."**

**Sevina lifted an eyebrow and they both started laughing, but stopped abruptly at a pounding on the door. Sevina looked instantly sheepish and quickly opened the door, not bothering to hide her surprise at the sight of Matt, accompanied by Chris Jericho and John Cena, all of them looking anxious and slightly threatening. "Um…hi."**

"**Everything alright?"**

**They had clearly heard her scream and she flushed, reaching up to rub the back of her neck. "Yeah, I uh…"**

"**She is frightened of her love for me."**

**Jeff had appeared at the door, now dressed in a pair of combat pants and a long sleeved t-shirt. His hair was still dripping wet and he was smirking. The three men assembled outside all raised their eyebrows and looked at Sevina, collectively smirking slightly. Sevina elbowed Jeff in the ribs, which probably hurt her more than him.**

"**I walked in on him in the shower."**

**This had the expected result of sending the three men into fits of laughter, whilst Sevina's pale skin turned an even darker shade of red. Jeff seemed entirely un-phased, which only irritated Sevina more. She hit him, slapping the flat of her hand against his stomach. He grabbed her hand and twisted her arm behind her back, manoeuvring her back inside. "Excuse us. Just gonna go do evil things to her."**

"**Jeff!"**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sevina was still slightly red faced by the time they all went out to dinner that night. They had been joined by Cena and Jericho and it was still a slightly bizarre sight for Sevina to see them all socialising together. She had watched WWE religiously since she was six years old and the drama always sucked her in. **

**She listened to them talking, joining in when she felt the need, but other than that she was quite content to sit on the edge of their little circle. Jeff was the centre of attention, having been missing in action for so long. He seemed quite at ease with the barrage of questions, not minding the personal nature of some of them. Still though, Sevina couldn't help noticing he wasn't really **_**saying**_** anything. Still not hint as to what he was doing here.**

"**Sevina…hey, you awake over there?" John Cena's voice called her out of her daze and she smiled in an apologetic fashion, shaking her head a little. "Sorry. Miles away."**

"**Somewhere nice?"**

"**I bet she was back in the shower with me!" Jeff's eyes were glinting with that familiar sense of mischief and Sevina lifted her chin a little. **

"**Dream on, Hardy. The day you get me in the shower, I'll give you a thousand bucks." She smirked a little, looking at Matt who had choked on his drink a little at Jeff's outburst. He looked at his brother and shook his head, clapping a hand to his face in exasperation. Sevina and Jeff were close, they had a very tactile and easy friendship, they weren't worried about starting rumours by hugging each other or making playfully suggestive remarks, they were both secure in the knowledge that it never went any further than that. Matt's friendship with Sevina was equally easy, but with him being older he felt a certain sense of protectiveness over her. He saw her the way and older brother would see and younger sister, so hearing her and Jeff talking to each other in that way still freaked him out a little.**

**The conversation had re-started once they were sure Matt wasn't going to expire on the floor or fall off his chair. It culminated in an impromptu, small food fight, which only ended when Sevina dumped a bowl of spaghetti over Cena's head, much to the amusement of the others. After that they were asked to leave the restaurant.**

**Matt headed off with Cena and Jericho to go over some work, leaving Sevina to drive Jeff back to the hotel. She was silent for the first few minutes, just listening to the stereo, before glancing sideways at Jeff and twisting her hands on the steering wheel. She tired to speak in a casual tone, but it didn't fool Jeff for a second. "So, how come you're not working?"**

**At first, the only answer she received was a shrug, but her expression was fierce enough to evoke a real answer. Jeff's voice was surprisingly small and a little anxious. "I got released."**

"**You got fired!?"**

**Jeff winced and shook his head, making his rainbow hair fall into his eyes slightly. He shoved it away impatiently and looked at Sevina who was frowning at him. He motioned to the road and she squeaked, quickly adjusting the steering wheel before talking again. "Why?" Her voice had lost the shock and almost screech-like quality it had previously held.**

**Jeff shifted and put his feet up on the dash. He knew Sevina hated it when he did that, but he figured she'd forget all that in a few moments. "I got arrested. The house got raided. There was a lot of…substances in there."**

**Jeff's head jerked forwards hard enough to make his forehead connect with his raised knees as Sevina slammed her foot on the break and brought the car to an abrupt halt right there in the middle of the road. She said nothing, but as Jeff lifted his head he could see the tension running through her body. "Vina?"**

"**Get out."**

**The two words were spoken very clearly and very calmly, but there was a hardness to them that hit Jeff like a punch to the stomach. "Sevina…let me explain…"**

"**Get out!" Jeff flinched as she shouted, her voice filling the small space of the car. He wanted to protest further, but knew her well enough to know that right now, it would be completely useless. So he silently climbed out of the car, shutting the door quietly. He watched her screech off, leaving behind the acrid smell of burning rubber and felt a tight knot of anxiety begin to form in his stomach.**

**He called a taxi and went back to the hotel. He went straight to Sevina's room, figuring the twenty minutes he'd been away from her was enough time for her to cool down. He knocked, but there was no answer. He tried the door but it was locked so he knocked harder. "Come on, Sevina! You can't ignore me forever!"**

"**Yes, I can!" **

**Jeff sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out the key that she had given him earlier that day. He chewed on his lip, not really wanting to just invade her space when she was so bugged at him. He knocked again, more gently this time and rested his forehead against the door. "Wont you even let me explain?"**

**There was a very long silence and Jeff was at the point where he was just gonna unlock the door and go in, when he felt himself fall forward and saw the floor rushing up to greet him. He flung his hands out brace himself and then looked up at Sevina. She did not look at all sympathetic that her sudden opening of the door had sent her friend sprawling onto the floor. "Get off my floor." Even she was surprised by the hardness of her tone and the venom that seeped out of it. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Jeff looked shocked and hurt, but dragged himself to his feet and trudged inside. He heard the door slam as he hesitated for a moment, before sitting on the edge of the bed. He looked at his hands, at the chipped black polish on his nails and was silent. He had no idea how to even begin.**

**Sevina soon solved that problem, not bothering to keep her voice down. "How could you be so stupid?! You lied to us! You said you were clean! You were doing do well, Jeff! We believed in you, we trust you even after everything else that's happened and you lied!"**

**Jeff sat and let her verbally beat him. He knew from experience that when Sevina went off like this it was best to let her get it out of her system.**

"**I can't even look at you right now! Why, Jeff?! Why the hell would to fight so hard to get your life back and then just throw it all away?! What about Beth?!" She threw Beth's name into it and Jeff's head snapped up. He shook his head and Sevina took this as her cue to stop. Even when she was mad at him, she knew when to back off and let him have his say. Only, he didn't say anything, he just looked sorry for himself, as if someone had sucked the life right out of him. A feeling of dread and understanding began to creep over Sevina. "Jeff, did something happen with Beth?"**

**Her voice was softer now. She knew, as well as anyone did, that Beth was Jeff's inspiration, she was the planet that he orbited. **

**Jeff avoided her eyes, but nodded just a fraction, staring at the wall. Sevina moved slowly and sat on the bed beside him. "Tell me."**

**Jeff reached up and ran his fingers through his hair, still keeping his eyes fixed on the wall. He spoke slowly in a voice that was very carefully controlled. "I'm not gonna go into details, but…she's gone. She's been gone for a while."**

**Sevina wasn't sure how to react. Beth and Jeff were certain, they were a package, the real deal. He didn't function properly without her. "So…that's the reason for the drugs?" Jeff surprised her by shaking his head and finally looking at her. "It wasn't a bad split. We're still friends. Really. We just…weren't how we used to be."**

"**So why, Jeff?" Sevina asked, clearly confused. She frowned and Jeff sighed, lowering his eyes again. "When the house got burnt…I got the new place and it just wasn't right. It was empty. Beth moved back to her parents' house and Jack…" His voice broke. He had loved that dog, losing him in the fire had been like losing a child. Sevina instinctively reached out and grasped her friend's shoulder, all anger forgotten. Jeff took a deep breath and continued, "I felt like I'd lost my grip on everything. I couldn't function. Just getting up was… I know I was stupid, Vina but I just fell right back into it. Back into the escape routes I'd always known were a way out. I couldn't work at WWE because of my injuries and TNA…it just wasn't right. It felt all wrong. I was like…a robot, going through the motions, doing what I had to do, but the whole time I was tanked up on whatever I could use to make the world go away."**

**Sevina had remained silent, letting it pour out of him. She chewed on the inside of her lip, then turned enough to put her arms around his neck in a slightly strange hug, given that he was still facing straight ahead. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. "I'm sorry I yelled at you." Jeff should his head and looked at her, moving her arms from his neck so that he could see her properly. "You had every right to. The story's already broken, so Matt's gonna find out soon. I'll be getting a lot worse off him."**

**Sevina frowned and ran her hands down her face. She disagreed completely with what he'd done and she was still mad at him for doing it, but she could almost understand it. Jeff had very few safety nets in his life. He wore his heart on his sleeve and seemed to feel every emotion more intensely than everyone else. He tried hard to be the person that kids looked up to and he wanted to be that person, but life outside of his head was a hard place to live in for someone who had spent most of their life living in their imagination.**

"**Are you still…?" Jeff immediately shook his head at her unfinished question. He knew what she had been going to ask. "No. I got put in jail, that kinda woke me up. That's why I needed to come here. I needed to see you guys, to just…learn how to be with people again, learn how to be normal."**

**Sevina didn't voice her thoughts, but they were very clear in her mind.**

_**You've always been something else, Jeff. When are you just gonna learn to be yourself?**_


	7. Chapter 7

Matt knew. He was fuming. More than that, he was livid. He was going to tear the little punk's head off his shoulders when he got his hands on him. Trouble was, he couldn't find him. He checked everywhere he could think of in the hotel, but he was nowhere to be found. Sevina's car was gone and his mind instantly came to the conclusion that they were together. Which meant that she knew as well and she was keeping him out of Matt's line of fire. This only made him angrier.

He sat in the bar until it closed, staring into a glass of water which had long since gone warm and lost all it's appeal. Then he went to his room. He looked at the clock. It was almost 2am and they still weren't back. Matt's room was right next to Sevina's so he would know when she came back. The walls in this place were like paper. Well, he wasn't going to sleep until he had seen his brother.

It was almost four by the time he heard anything. What he heard was a light knock at his door. He immediately charged to it and flung it open. Sevina looked shocked by the violence of the movement and then shoved her hands deep into the pockets of her pants. "Can I come in?"

Matt was scowling at her and reminding himself that it wasn't her that he was mad at. He stepped aside to let her in and before she could say a word he demanded; "Where is he?" Sevina stopped, half way to the couch against the wall and looked at her incensed friend. "He got a room down the hall. He's sleeping."

"Why the hell are you protecting him, Sevina? He lied to you too!"

"Matt, this isn't about us! This is about him. You're his brother and he needs you right now. I can't take on your role."

Matt was confused. He had the feeling he was missing something important. Sevina began to explain, carefully and quietly, she told him everything as she had promised Jeff she would. He'd been too emotionally exhausted to face his brother tonight and she and Matt were working the next day so there would be no chance in the morning.

Matt listened as she told him about Beth. He was shocked. He didn't understand how Jeff had kept something that big from him. He didn't interrupt her as she spoke, but at some point moved to sit on the couch she had originally intended to use. She was stood, pacing slightly as she let the words spill out of her.

When she had talked herself into silence, she looked at Matt and they were both silent for a long time, before Matt let out a long sigh and shook his head. "So, I guess beating the holy hell out of him isn't going to be very helpful right now?"

"I really doubt it. He knows what he did was mind bending-ly stupid, Matt. He doesn't need us reminding him of that."

"So, now what?"

"Well, I talked to Vince. He's okay with Jeff travelling with us, as long as he doesn't go backstage at any of the venues. Ticket holder only."

Matt ran his fingers through his hair and ran his hands down his face, trying to find a quiet place in his mind to make sense of all this. "Why didn't he tell me all of this?"

"You weren't there, Matt. God, that sounds awful. I just mean, he was trying to deal with it on his own because he didn't want to put it on you when you were so busy with work. He only told me because he had to tell _someone_ and I was there."

"I'm a horrible brother."

"What? No! Don't say that." Sevina moved to sit beside him, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him slightly. He looked at her and she could see the torn expression in his eyes. Half of him wanted to go and beat the crap out of Jeff and the other half wanted to go and just be there for him. The two sides of Matt Hardy were not very well balanced when it came to his brother. "I need to talk to him."

"I know, but not right now. He's sleeping and we have work tomorrow. Don't forget we're shooting the promo for the Royal Rumble."

Matt nodded slowly, having totally forgotten about work and that he had a huge PPV match coming up. They both did. Sevina was being officially marketed as his manager for the time being as part of their storyline. Matt looked at the clock and then back to Sevina. "We should try and get some sleep." Sevina nodded in agreement and stood up. She impulsively leaned back down and dropped a kiss on Matt's hair, smiling hesitantly before leaving his room.

Given how fast her mind was racing, she fell asleep with surprising ease. The stress of the evening draining her energy. She didn't know what was going to happen, but she sure as hell knew this wasn't how she had intended to spend her first week in the WWE.

9am came far too soon and Sevina reached over to hit her alarm clock, only succeeding in knocking to the floor across the room where it continued to screech at her. She swore inventively and pulled herself out of bed to switch it off. She rubbed at her eyes, trying to get them to work properly, but it seemed to be a losing battle, so she stumbled, half blind to her bathroom. She turned on the water for the shower and looked in the mirror as she waited for it to heat up.

She looked like hell. Her hair was sticking out in some pretty strange directions and lack of sleep had left a dusting of grey underneath her eyes, which were dull from tiredness and slightly smudged from her forgetting to remove her mascara the night before. The make-up artists were going to be mad at her for not taking better care of herself.

She grunted unhappily and turned away from the mirror, proceeding to take her shower. She felt a little more revived as she pulled on her jeans and a long sleeved, black t-shirt with the Hardy Boys logo on the back. It had been a birthday present from Jeff. At the time she had thrown it at him, declaring that he'd only got it for her because he didn't have to pay for it. Secretly, she loved it but had no intention of telling him that.

The smile that the memory had put on her face, quickly disappeared as she thought about Jeff and her brow furrowed into a frown. She shook her head, sighing and sat on the bed to pull her boots on. A knock at the door surprised her mid tug and she lifting her head to look at the door. "Who is it?"

"Me." Jeff's voice sounded tired and Sevina immediately called out for him to come in as she went about lacing up her boot. She looked at him as he entered and his appearance confirmed her suspicions. "Did you get any sleep last night, at all?"

"Not really. How was Matt?"

"He was okay. Look, Jeff, I know you're worried, but he's cool. He's not gonna pound on you or anything like that." Jeff smiled wanly, but didn't look convinced. He moved to sit on the bed beside her and leaned across to rest his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes. She reached up and stroked his hair lightly. It was rougher than anyone would expect upon seeing it, but his constant dying had dried it out. "It'll be okay, buddy."

Still Jeff did not look convinced and he scrunched his nose up to highlight this fact. Sevina smiled and leaned down to nudge his forehead with her nose. "Try not to stress, okay? You wanna come to the studio with us today?"

Jeff immediately sat up and shook his head. He looked at his hands, then at her. "I don't wanna be around wrestling right now. I'll be here when you get back."

"You better be." Sevina smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring way and leaned down to kiss his forehead, before grabbing her car keys and leaving.


	8. Chapter 8

The shoot was every bit as bad as Matt and Sevina had thought it would be. First the make-up artists were running late and then had a fit because Sevina hadn't been taking good care of her skin. The main camera that they wanted to use for the short promo video had an electrical fault and there were no others available that day, so they ended up using a completely different one, which called for a new set up to the video.

There was also a moment, when total silence fell over the pair of them as they were handed their revised storylines with a new script. As they flicked through the pages, their eyes met and both saw their own disbelief reflected back at them. This was not what they had agreed to and at this point in the day, five minutes from shooting, they didn't have time to kick up a fuss over it.

The angle of their storyline had totally changed. Originally, Sevina was supposed to come in as Matt's manager, appearing to be the hero, but actually manipulating Matt into turning heel. Apparently that had now been thrown out the window and according to the new script, Matt would not be turning heel because of her manipulation, instead, she would be turning face because of an attraction to Matt!

"You think we can talk to the director and get this changed?" Matt's voice was low and slightly anxious. Sevina frowned and glanced over to the director who was ordering that the finally lighting be switched on so that they could get started. "Um…it doesn't look like it…well…I mean, it just says attraction, right? We can handle that. Like…unrequited love sort of thing.."

Sevina didn't convince Matt anymore than she convinced herself. They both knew that if Vince got good feedback on this new angle, it would be stepped up another notch and whilst they were both professionals, neither was confident about being able to realistically act out a romantic relationship. They'd been friends for too long and it was just too strange.

At that moment, the director called for them and they both frowned. Matt sighed in a resigned way. "Let's just get this done with and we'll talk to Vince later." Sevina nodded and said nothing. They both climbed into the special ring that had been set up for the shoot. The movements were simple enough. Matt was to be stood in the centre of the ring, looking intense and determined and a voiceover would play, whilst Sevina appeared in the background and slowly approached, ending up beside him, but just slightly in front with her hand on his chest, looking up at him with an 'adoring' expression.

It took a lot longer than anyone would have liked and the director got extremely frustrated with them because of their facial expressions, or Sevina's apparent discomfort with wearing the outfit which was a kind of reflection of Matt's but with less coverage, Matt didn't help things by finding it very strange having to keep focus whilst his scantily clad friend was looking at him with that kind of expression on her face. Mostly, the problem was their laughter. The situation was so absurd that one of them always seemed to end up laughing at the other.

They were supposed to wrap at four pm, they didn't finish until seven. Both Matt and Sevina were extremely glad to get out at the end of it. Back at the hotel there was no sign of Jeff. "Maybe he's in the gym…" Sevina suggested, frowning at the t.v which had been left on in her room. Matt shook his head and glanced over his shoulder towards the open door.

Without a word, he suddenly darted out and down the corridor. Sevina lifted her eyebrows and followed him. "Matt? Hey! Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong?" Matt had stopped outside of his room with a kind of twisted, anxious expression on his face. Sevina stood beside him and when he didn't respond, she grabbed his arm tightly. He suddenly looked at her. "My car keys are gone…my door was bust open."

"…Jeff." His name was just a whisper passing Sevina's lips and suddenly, as if the world had slowed right down, they both turned and sprinted down the hall. Neither Sevina nor Matt could pinpoint exactly what it was that had them worried, but both felt the dread in their chests. The both jumped into Sevina's car without a single word passing between them.

They drew a few stares as Sevina spun the car out of the parking lot. "Where would he go, Matt?" Sevina asked, not taking her eyes off the road. Matt chewed on his lip frantically. Jeff didn't know Chicago very well, neither of them did, but he knew his brother and knew what he did when he was freaking out. "Somewhere quiet. Somewhere… empty."

Sevina said nothing as she suddenly did a complete one eighty in the road, pressing her foot onto the gas pedal to urge more speed from the car. "Where are we going, Vina?"

"My brother used to live in Chicago. There a slum, on the outside of the city. Pretty much abandoned. It's like an adventure playground for adrenaline junkies." She glanced at Matt as she finished speaking, seeing the light come into his eyes that meant she was probably right in her hunch.

They drove in silence for the next twenty minutes, neither making any move to turn on the stereo. The quiet was tense as both considered their separate worries over why Jeff had stolen Matt's car the way he had and what he might be doing.

They'd both seen him tanked up on drugs, both knew the extremes he took his body and mind to in his attempts to escape the reality of his life. He had said he was clean, but he was a volatile creature and his moods changed so swiftly.

Sevina skidded the car to a stop in front of a double row of boarded up houses. It looked alien in the bright city, like it had just been glued to the edge of it. It was clear that no-one had lived here for a while and there were 'danger; keep out' signs everywhere. Matt bolted out of the car before Sevina and headed up one side of the street, whilst Sevina took the other side.

She ducked under a police tape line and kicked the crumbled door out of her way to get inside one of the buildings. "Jeff? Jeff, are you here?" She called out, her voice bouncing back at her from the empty walls. She ran through the house, squeezing through a hole in the dividing wall to enter the next one. She almost tripped over some rotted wood furniture and stumbled to catch herself. At the same moment she had a crash out the back. "Jeff?"

There was no answer so she quickly headed for the rear of the house. The backyard was like a sea of card boxes and she picked her way around the edge of them, flinching as one fell, seemingly from the roof of the four story building. She turned and looked up, a gasp leaving her as she spotted a flash of rainbow hair and a bare chest moving around on the roof. "Jeff!" He didn't seem to hear her and had his back to the edge. She frowned, not sure of what he was doing, but when she saw his arms go out wide to his sides, she felt as if her heart had stopped and a hand had punched through her chest. "Jeff! No, don't!"

It was clear that he was intending to try some sort of stunt into the boxes, but even as she looked, Sevina could see all number of hazards buried beneath the cardboard mass, any of which would do him some serious injury or even kill him.

She couldn't breathe and she shouted his name again, but still he didn't seem to hear. She saw him roll his shoulders as he tried to work up the nerve and she knew she had to get to him first. She dove back inside, finding the stairs and running up them. Her boots pounded on the unstable wood. She let out a sharp noise that was a mixture of pain and surprise as her foot went straight through one of the steps. She yanked the limb free and carried on running. Some of the stairs were missing and she had to jump them, the whole time aware that the longer she took, the less chance she had of stopping him from jumping.

She could hear her heart banging in her ears like a drum beat and her chest was tight from the exertion of running up all the stairs and the panic from what could happen. She found the door to the roof, but it was stuck. She shoved against it but it wouldn't give. She stepped back and then threw the sole of her foot towards the offending object with every ounce of strength that she had. It flew open and she ran through, stopping abruptly to adjust to the new surroundings. She slipped slightly and watched as the tile she'd been stood on, crashed off the roof.

She turned her head and saw Jeff, eyes closed and head tilted up towards the darkening sky. As she watched, he began to lean backwards. "Jeff, no!" She felt herself running over the deadly loose tiles and his green eyes snapped open as he finally seemed to hear her approach. He had already passed his centre of gravity though and seeing the look of horror on her face he seemed to snap out of his stupor and realise what he was doing. "..Vina…"

She watched him falling, knowing she couldn't stop it now and threw herself forward her arm outstretched…"Jeff!"


	9. Chapter 9

**She felt her fingers close tightly around his forearm, his own hands wrapping around hers in response. She angled back and wrapped her free arm around the unsafe looking chimney stack. Jeff's face was a picture of surprise and anxiety. He looked up at Sevina as she looked down at him, her face was screwed up in concentration as she kept a determined grip on him. "Vina…you can't hold me."**

"**Yes I can!" She ground out between her teeth, determined to prove him wrong. Her shoulder felt as if it were on fire and the muscles in her back were screaming in protest. She looked at him, her hand tightening on his arm, refusing to let go, refusing to give in. Jeff could see the pain in her face and knew there was only so long she could hold on for. "Jeff, do you have your phone?" The question surprised him, but he nodded none-the-less. Sevina then said something, but he didn't catch it. "What?"**

"**Call Matt!"**

**Jeff just stared at her for a moment, then slowly, carefully reached into the pocket of his pants, grabbing his phone. His hands were sweating and as he pulled it out his fingers slipped over the touch screen and all he could do was watch as it crashed to the ground below them. Sevina swore inventively and even Jeff was surprised by the imagery she used. "Sevina, listen to me. You can't hold me."**

"**I can and I am. Shut up, Jeff!" She grit her teeth together and suddenly moved her legs, pushing against them, gasping at the pain that shot through the abused muscles. She let go of the chimney stack, bracing her feet against the raised edge of the roof and grabbed his arm with both hands. She pulled as hard as she could and though it didn't feel like she was getting anywhere, Jeff was able to reach out and grab the edge of the roof and pull himself the rest of the way up.**

**Sevina fell back against the roof, letting go of him. She lifted her hands to press the heels of them into her eyes, wincing as pain shot through her back. Jeff was beside her in an instant, kneeling over her. He grabbed her wrists and pulled them down from her face. "Vina…are you alright?"**

**She suddenly sat up, ignoring the way that her muscles all seemed to want to lock in place. She glared at him, then planted both hands on his bare chest and shoved him, but not hard enough to send him off the roof again. "What the hell were you thinking?! Are you **_**trying **_**to kill yourself?!"**

**Jeff shook his head, righting himself back onto his knees after she had pushed him. He said nothing as he helped her to her feet, bracing an arm under her elbow as she teetered slightly. "No, I just…I was being stupid."**

"**Stupid, that's best you can come up with?! You could have died! You could have-" The rest of her outburst was cut off by an unexpected growl of thunder and at that moment, the now dark sky opened and rain began to pour down over them. Sevina hunched her shoulders up in response, but did not seem ready to finish her tirade. "What did you think would happen, Jeff?! Are you crazy?!"**

**Jeff seemed not to notice the rain as his hands reached out to grip her shoulders. "We need to get inside! It's not safe up here!"**

"**Oh, now you care about what's safe?!" Sevina shouted at him, pulling herself from his grasp. Jeff glared at her, then suddenly lunged at her and grabbed her around the waist, throwing her unceremoniously over his shoulder and running across the roof to get inside. All the way down the stairs she was screaming abuse at him and trying to fight her way free. When they finally reached the bottom floor he set her down, only to be greeted by a very forceful slap across the face.**

**He reeled from the impact, then his hand shot out to grab her wrist as she swung at him again. He pulled her tight against his chest, restricting her movements and put his arms around her in a fierce hug. One of his hands gripped her hair, the other pinned her arm to her side. She was mad at him, she knew she was and she wanted to hit him again, but her mind threw up the image of him falling from the roof and the feeling of knowing what was happening and that there was nothing she could do to stop it. In an instant, not knowing when exactly the switch happen, she found herself hugging him back. The arm that had been pinned against his side was now around his wait, the other thrown around his neck. "Don't you ever do something so stupid again!" She whispered fiercely against his shoulder, barely audible over the pounding rain.**

"**I wont. I promise. I wont." Jeff shut his eyes tight, his hand in her hair must surely have been painful but she didn't protest. The expression on her face when he'd seen her on the roof would be forever imprinted on his memory and he never wanted to see that kind of fear in her again. "I'm sorry, Vina."**

**The spell of the moment was broken by a very loud cough. Sevina lifted her head from Jeff's shoulder to see Matt standing behind them with a very bemused expression. Jeff dropped his arms from around her and turned to his brother.**

"**So, uh…you found him then?" Matt lifted an eyebrow at them both, not sure what he'd just walked in on. He was soaked through, though they didn't seem much better. Sevina nodded, glancing at Jeff, her expression darkening again. "Yes. He jumped off the roof."**

"**What?!" Matt's eyes flicked to his brother and Jeff shifted uncomfortably. **

"**I'm okay though, Sevina grabbed me." Matt looked about as ready to hit him as Sevina had been, but he decided to save it until they got somewhere less likely to collapse. "You are going to pay for the damage to my door when we get back."**

**Jeff had totally forgotten about kicking Matt's hotel room door in and he winced a little at the memory. "Matt…I'm really sorry."**

**Matt shook his head dismissively, but then a thought seemed to occur to him and he looked at Jeff with a suspicious gaze. "Where's the Wrangler?"**

"**Down the road. I didn't crash it."**

"**Are you high?"**

"**No!"**

"**You sure about that?"**

"**You wanna test me?"**

"**Guys! Stop it!" Sevina had moved to stand between them. She shook her head, frowning at them both. "Look, we're all soaked and uncomfortable. Let's just go back to the hotel, get cleaned up and then sit and talk, like adults. Standing here yelling at each other isn't going to get us anywhere except dead in this place. Jeff, give Matt the keys to the Wrangler, you're riding with me."**


	10. Chapter 10

**Things did not go as Sevina had hoped when they reached the hotel. Matt and Jeff started yelling at each other as soon as they got through the door to her room. She sighed and looked thoughtful for a moment before deciding to just let them get on with it. She grabbed some clothes from her suitcase and headed into the bathroom. Neither seemed to notice her leave. She could still hear them shouting as she showered, but by the time she got out, they were quiet.**

**She pulled on her jeans and the long sleeved stretch cotton t-shirt she had picked out, combing her hair with her fingers before putting it into a ponytail. She hesitated at the door to the bedroom, but then slowly opened it and peered inside. Jeff was laid on his back across her bed with his arms folded underneath his head, staring at the ceiling. Matt was sat on the floor beside the bed, with his knees pulled up. He was the first to look at her, giving her a wan smile. "Feeling better?" Sevina nodded and glanced at Jeff, then back to Matt. "Are you?"**

**Matt looked over his shoulder at his brother, who showed no signs to wanting to talk. "I think we understand each other."**

"**Jeff?" Sevina stepped closer to the bed and slowly, Jeff turned his head in her direction. "Hey, Kid."**

"**You alright?"**

"**Yeah."**

**Sevina nodded and then moved to the phone by the bed. She ordered room service for them all, then looked at the other brothers. "You guys need to shower and change. You'll get sick if you stay in wet clothes and Jeff, get off my bed, your jeans are soaking the sheets!"**

**Jeff looked at her and for the first time that day she saw a spark of amusement light his emerald eyes. He slowly and deliberately swung his legs off the bed and stood up. He approached her and lightly gripped her upper arm, planting a kiss on her forehead before strolling into her bathroom. "Make sure you lock the door this time!"**

**She heard his laughter echo around the tiled room before turning her gaze on Matt. He was looking thoughtfully at the bathroom door. "What?" She asked and moved to sit down on the floor beside him. He looked at her, frowning a little. "I just…if you hadn't found him today, I'd never have got there in time…I saw that garden, Sevina, I saw what was under those boxes. The idiot didn't even check them. He'd be dead right now."**

"**You don't know that for certain, Matt."**

"**Yeah, but why would he do it in the first place? I mean, I know he likes to take risks, but jumping off a four storey building is extreme, even for him."**

**Sevina sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder, before jerking away suddenly and wrinkling her nose. "Ew. Matt you're soaked!" Matt did not seem impressed by her preoccupation with the wetness of his clothes and proceeded to pull his shirt off and rub it over her face. She squealed and shoved him away, scrambling to her feet and running to the door as he chased after her. She pulled the door open just as the service boy arrived with their food. She quickly ducked behind him, threw him a charming smile, then pointed at Matt. "He's a crazy person!"**

**Matt snorted with laughter, whilst the server simply looked frightened. "Um…um…Shall I just…um…leave this here?"**

**Matt bared his teeth in a creepy sort of smile and nodded. The server practically bolted down the hall. Sevina put her hands on her hips and lifted an eyebrow at Matt. "You scared him."**

**Matt grinned at her, then threw his shirt at her face. She hadn't been expecting it and was blinded by the sopping garment. She tripped and fell on her butt, wincing as pain lanced up and down the strained muscles in her back. Matt seemed to know instinctively that something wasn't right. He knelt down beside her. "Vina? You alright?"**

**She was gasping for air as she felt her muscles going into cramp. The pain was intense and she arched her back slightly in an automatic movement to try and alleviate the pressure. She swore, shutting her eyes tight. She ended up on her side, curled into a ball, kicking her legs a little in pain. Matt was cursing over and over. About five minutes later, after he had made a call to the WWE's travelling doctor, Jeff came outside to see where they were. He saw Sevina on the floor, with silent tears streaming down her face, which was contorted in obvious pain. "What the hell happened?!"**

**Matt looked at him, one of his hands was lightly resting on Sevina's side, the other braced on the floor behind her back. He shook his head. "I dunno. Her back just seemed to give out." Jeff moved to the opposite side of Sevina than his brother. He leant down to look at her face, his hand coming up to rest on her cheek. "Sevina?"**

**She didn't open her eyes, but tilted her head up slightly, gasping her words out; "Hi, Jeff." The doctor arrived then and the brothers were forced to get out of the way. The hardest part for Matt and Jeff was having to stand and listen as his prodding elicited almost screams from the collapsed diva. It took the doctor all of half a minute to decide that she needed to be moved to hospital and the ambulance was called.**

**Matt rode with her and Jeff drove, the whole time unable to shake the intense feeling of guilt that seemed to have settled over him. If he hadn't pulled the stunt on the roof, she would never have been forced to hold his weight on her back. His hands wrung the steering wheel as he tried to focus on the road. He was thankful that the hospital wasn't far from where they were staying, he wasn't sure he could handle being alone with his thoughts for much longer.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Thank you to I Luv Hardy, I'm glad you're enjoying this :D**

**Just realised I never put in Sevina's last name; it's Ataera, just for the record!**

**Chapter 11**

**Jeff hated hospitals, the cold white walls, the smell of disinfectant and the entire atmosphere just creeped him out. He found Matt in the waiting room and shoved his hands into his pockets, looking at his brother with a questioning expression. Matt shrugged and leaned back in the chair he was occupying. "They're doing an assessment now. Shouldn't take too long."**

**Jeff nodded and sat down beside him. He lifted his hand to his mouth and chewed on his thumbnail, his lower teeth scraping off the black polish. He was so preoccupied with his self abusive thoughts that he didn't even pay attention to how much time was passing. At some point the asked Matt if he thought they should call Sevina dad and let him know what was going on, but Matt had shook his head. Sevina's relationship with her family was complicated and she wouldn't want to worry them unless there was no other option.**

**It as about thirty minutes late when the doctor came to find them. Matt was on his feet instantly, whilst Jeff remained where he was seated, folding his arms over his chest. The doctor looked at them both, before focusing on Matt. "She'll be alright. Miss Ataera has pulled several muscles in her back and they went into shock. She's been given a muscle relaxant and some painkillers. She had to be sedated…she was quite resistant to the doctors, so she's sleeping at the moment, but you can sit with her if you like."**

**Matt nodded as the doctor walked away, then looked at Jeff who was scowling. "She hates doctors. Remember when she broke her arm? She refused to go to hospital for three days, then she tried to take the attending's head off."**

"**Yeah, I remember. Come on." Matt led the way down the corridor to Sevina's room. Jeff traipsed behind him with his shoulders hunched and his hands back in his pockets. Matt walked straight into the room, whilst Jeff hesitated by the door. Matt looked at him questioningly and Jeff looked away. "I'm gonna go grab some coffee. You want some?" He didn't wait for an answer before leaving. Matt frowned at the space where he'd been, then sat down in the chair beside Sevina's bed.**

**He looked at the sleeping woman and shook his head, leaning forward and resting his arms on the edge of the bed. He considered holding her hand, but if she woke up and saw that she'd never let him live it down, so instead he just looked at her. He couldn't remember ever having seen her asleep. She looked different. There was colour in her face, just a light touch of a flush in her normally ice pale skin. Her blue/black hair was a mess and spread out over the white pillows. There was no hint of the frown that was usually waiting to furrow her brow.**

**Matt wondered if she'd kill him for taking a picture and figured that, yes, she probably would. She stirred a little, but didn't wake up. Matt rested his chin on his arms and glanced at the door. Jeff still hadn't come back. He knew how his brother felt about hospitals, so he could kind of understand his reaction. He also knew that Jeff was blaming himself for Sevina being here in the first place. **

**He sighed and looked at Sevina again, he was surprised to find her eyes open and she was frowning at him. "Hey, you're awake."**

"**I think so…what the hell happened?"**

"**Um…you kicked up a fuss, so they sedated you."**

"**Bastards." The word was said quietly, but forcefully and Matt couldn't restrain a chuckle. Sevina lifted a hand to press against her forehead. "So, what's the verdict?"**

"**Oh, you know, broken back, ended career…"**

"**What?!" Matt's laughter told Sevina that he was lying and she whacked him over the head. He yelped and then grinned at her. **

"**You'll be fine. You pulled some muscles, but nothing too serious." Sevina nodded slowly, then looked at the clock and swore.**

"**Guess I'll be missing your match."**

"**Yeah, which sucks, but at least you'll be there for the next one. Look, I'd better go, I have to catch my flight, but Jeff's around here somewhere, I'll grab him." He stood up and pressed his lips briefly to her forehead. "Feel better, Kid."**

**Sevina scrunched her nose up and watched him leave. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes again. She was irritated that she was going to miss Matt's match, but most of her mind was occupied with Jeff. She knew him well enough to know he was going to be tearing himself up over her being in here. She counted slow seconds for at least ten minutes and Jeff hadn't come to her room. She chewed on her lip, then slowly sat up. The painkillers worked enough that her back only gave the smallest of protests.**

**Carefully she swung her legs over the side of her bed and got to her feet. She wobbled slightly and knew she was going to fall over, but before she could hit the floor, a pair of strong arms caught her. "You're supposed to be resting." Jeff didn't look at her as he gently helped her back onto the bed. She frowned at him, watching his face carefully, but he continued to evade her eyes. "Jeff, look at me."**

"**Lie down, Sevina."**

**Sevina glared at him, but did as she was told. Jeff still didn't look at her as he rearranged her pillows slightly to make sure she was comfortable. "Jeff.." He still didn't look at her. He moved back from the bed and folded his arms, looking at nothing in particular. "I should go and pay for the damage I caused at the hotel."**

"**But-" Sevina didn't get time to finish as he turned and walked out of the room. She stared after him with an expression that was a mixture of bemusement and irritation. She swore inventively and lifted an arm to lay across her eyes. Even for Jeff this seemed a bit of an over-reaction. She was okay, the injury was minimal and she'd had a lot worse over the years and yet he was acting like somebody had died. To top it all off, she was feeling guilty but she had no idea what for!**


	12. Chapter 12

Sevina watched the Rumble from her hotel room, screaming at the t.v and actually throwing her big bag of skittles at it when Matt was eliminated. "Damn it!" She knew he was never meant to win it, but still. She watched as he hobbled up the ramp, noticing that he was limping. She frowned and grabbed the phone beside the bed, punching in his cell number. It rang several times before he picked up. "Hardy."

"Hey, it's Vina. I saw the match."

"Yeah? It's still going on."

"Yes, but you're not in it. You okay? I saw you limping."

"I'm fine. Just twisted my ankle. Nothing serious. How's your back?" Sevina moved a little, testing her back, then grimaced. "Getting there. Still sore."

"How's Jeff?" Sevina hesitated before answering; "He's fine. He paid to get the door repaired."

"Is he coming to Raw next week?"

"Um…I dunno. I haven't asked." There must have been something in her voice that told him things weren't alright a he asked; "Is everything alright?" Sevina frowned and rubbed her eyes, leaning back against her headboard with only a minimal wince. "I'm not really sure. He left the hospital pretty quick. I haven't seen him since." Matt swore under his breath, then sighed. "I gotta go, but I'll give him a call. Feel better, okay?"

"Okay. Bye." Sevina hung up the phone and then turned onto her stomach and buried her face in the pillows, screaming into the stuffed cushion. "Y'know, you could suffocate yourself like that."

"Jeff!" Sevina sat up, turning sharply, gasping as pain jumped through her back. Jeff moved quickly to sit on the bed. "Sorry. Are you okay?" Sevina nodded and looked at him. He was looking at her now, but his expression seemed dead somehow, like he was deliberately hiding his thoughts from her. "Are you?"

Jeff shifted a little and stood up again, sitting in the armchair beside the bed instead. He glanced at the t.v which was still running. "How's it going?" He motioned to the t.v and Sevina frowned, glancing at it, before back at him. "Matt got eliminated. Twisted his ankle but he's okay. Jeff, would you look at me already!"

Jeff looked at her with his eyebrows raised. "What?" Sevina frowned at him, not sure what to say all of a sudden. She just sighed and ran her hands down her face. She grabbed her bag of skittles and held them out to him. "Skittle?" Jeff smirked and shoved his hand into the bag, bringing it out with an overflowing handful of the colourful candy. "Hey! I meant one!"

"Thanks, Kid." Without another word, he stood up and left the room, leaving Sevina gaping in his wake. She stared around for a few minutes. "What the hell just happened?" She asked the room, then scowled and lay back on the bed, glaring at the t.v. She couldn't focus for the rest of the night and ended up missing the rest of the Rumble. Her back was really starting to hurt, so she took some more painkillers and had a long, hot bath. She lay in the steaming water, up to her neck in bubbles and chewed on her bottom lip. She knew Jeff was feeling guilty, but this was getting a bit ridiculous. They'd been friends for years and she'd never seen him react this badly to anything.

She scowled and ducked her head under the water, as if that would drown out her thoughts. She could feel herself getting frustrated at him, knowing that the longer it went on the more annoyed she was going to get until she ended up smacking some sense into him. Maybe if she hit him with her car, he'd think they were even and he'd talk to her again. She emerged from the water a few moments later, sighing.

It turned out to be a very long night. No matter how she slept, she couldn't get comfortable and by 5am she'd given up altogether. She paced her room for a while before deciding to go down and see if they were serving breakfast yet. They weren't, but she found Jeff in the bar. It was closed and he was asleep at a table with his head on it. Sevina lifted her eyebrows and walked over. She grasped his shoulder and shook him. "Jeff. Hey, wake up." He shot into a sitting position, his hand closing around her wrist in a grip tight enough to make her gasp. "Ow!"

He let go just as quickly as he'd grabbed her. "Sorry." He mumbled, running his fingers through his hair and then down his face. He shook himself, trying to wake up. He looked around, frowning. "What time is it?"

"Five-thirty." Jeff swore and dragged himself to his feet. He looked at a spot just over her head. "What time is your flight?"

"Ten…are you coming?" Sevina was glaring at him, but he wasn't looking at her so he didn't notice. He shrugged and nodded. "Sure. Matt asked me to." Sevina felt her hands curl into fists, but she bit her tongue, before turning on her heel and stalking away. Fine, if he wanted to be a jackass, then fine. She was so busy being mad that she didn't see the pained expression on his face as she walked away.

She slammed the door to her hotel room once she got inside, then went about packing her things. She should have done it the day before, since she was supposed to have been at the Rumble with Matt, but hadn't bothered. She shoved everything into her suitcase, not bothering to fold it. She changed into a pair of baggy jeans and a fitted t-shirt, throwing her parka coat over a chair so that she wouldn't forget it.

She was still slamming things around when there was a knock at her door, she threw it open scowling, but then relaxed when she saw it was just a server to tell her that the valet had her car ready to leave. She nodded her thanks the grabbed her coat and pulled it on. She picked her suitcase and winced, dropping it almost instantly. She swore and kicked it, watching it slide across the floor. Ten minutes later she arrived at the check out desk, behind her suitcase, which she was kicking forwards at regular intervals. The receptionist gave her an odd look before handing her the book to sign.

She then kicked her case out to the car and let the valet put it in the car for her. She looked around, wondering if Jeff was expecting her to drive him to the airport, but saw him getting into a taxi. This irritated her more and she climbed into her car, shutting the door a little too hard. She recklessly pulled out in front of the taxi, forcing her way out of the parking lot before them.

She said nothing to him when they boarded the flight together and he seemed to ignore her just as thoroughly when he took his seat next to her. For the first time in their friendship, no playful fight ensued for the window seat. It was going to be a long flight…


	13. Chapter 13

Matt was waiting for them at the airport, surrounded by fans. He was happily chatting and signing autographs. The usual scramble ensued when the fans spotted Jeff and Sevina slipped quietly away, pulling up her hood and avoiding everyone. She nodded to Matt, but didn't say anything to him. She just left the airport and got into her rental car, driving to the new hotel. She didn't look at the scenery as she passed, there was no point, they'd be leaving again in a few days. She turned the stereo up extremely loud as she drove, wanting to block out her thoughts.

The hotel was nice and she found that she was in a room joining onto Matt's. This information didn't surprise or bother her. She took a shower and then went down to the gym. She'd been told not to work out for at least three days, but she needed to do something. She was careful, just testing her back, not putting any pressure on it really. The muscles felt tender, but the little work out actually made her feel a bit better.

She looked up as Chris Jericho approached her, smiling. She smiled back at him and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Hi, Chris. How are you?"

"I'm okay. I heard you had a bit of trouble with your back in Chicago. You feeling better?"

"Getting there. Thanks for asking."

"Where's Matt?"

"Um..I left him at the airport with Jeff…he's probably not back yet." Chris seemed to sense some of the tension in her tone and left the subject alone. He sat down on the rowing machine next to hers and then looked at her again. "You gonna be at Raw on Monday?" Sevina smiled and nodded, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "Yeah, but only ringside. I'm not allowed to get involved." Chris laughed at her apparent dislike for this, then looked up s a shadow fell over them. "Sevina, Matt's looking for you. He said you left the airport kinda quickly."

Sevina looked up at John Cena, then frowned a little and nodded. She stood up. "Thanks John. How are you?"

"I'm cool." He shrugged casually, then took the machine that she had just vacated. Before she'd even walked away, Chris and John were taunting each other and laughing, seeing who could push themselves the furthest before they got tired. Sevina smiled a little and wandered out. She couldn't find Matt in the lobby, so she went up to her room. She was a little surprised to find him sitting on her bed. "Uh…hi."

She shut the door slowly and walked over to him, folding her arms loosely. "John said you were looking for me." Matt nodded and looked at her, with an expression that told her she was about to get a lecture. "How come you left the airport so quickly?"

Sevina wrinkled her nose and sat down beside him, untying and pulling her boots of slowly. "I was tired. I didn't sleep much last night and I didn't want to hang around and get in the way."

"In the way? Sevina we were just signing autographs. We weren't there that long."

"I know. Matt, don't freak out. I just needed some quiet time, okay? It happens now and then." She nudged him in a friendly way, but he didn't look convinced. "So, you have no idea why my brother is in a horrible mood?" Sevina's face darkened and she shook her head, glaring at the wall. "I have no idea, but if you find out, be sure to let me know."

Matt lifted his eyebrows at her, not sure what he was supposed to make of that remark. He sighed and stood up. "Look, whatever's going on with the pair of you, can you try and sort it out? I can't deal with you both being in a bad mood all the time."

"What? I've tried, I don't know what's wrong with him! He's acting like a child for no reason!"

"Whatever, Vina. Just…don't bring it to work with you." With that Matt left. Sevina was fuming. She hadn't started this, Jeff had! She didn't even know what 'this' was. She ordered room service and refused to leave her room for the rest of the day. When someone knocked on her door she ignored it. She took her phone off the hook and turned the t.v up loud, though she wasn't watching it. She was just curled up on the bed, in her sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt, her hair was a mess and she hadn't bothered to put any make-up on. She just lay there feeling sorry for herself.

Her cell rang a few times, but it was a number she didn't know, so she ignored it. If anyone important needed her they wouldn't bother calling from a strange number. It was about eight pm when there was an insistent banging on the door. "Go away!"

She was still in no mood to talk to anyone, but the banging just got louder. She growled and pulled the door open with far more force that was necessary and then stared at the person on the other side of it. "John?"

John looked a little shocked by the way she'd opened the door, then he took in her appearance and his eyebrows shot up. "Uh…hi. Were you sleeping?" Sevina glanced over her shoulder. The room was dark where she'd pulled the curtains closed, but the t.v was still blaring loudly enough to dispel any illusion that she'd been asleep. She made a face and looked back at him. "Um…no. Just having one of those days, Y'know?"

John nodded and then grinned. "That's what I thought. So, I brought you something." He held up a six pack of beers and Sevina laughed, then motioned for him to come in. She quickly shut off the t.v and opened the curtains, shocked to see that it was dark outside. She flicked on the light, then looked at John. "I'm just gonna go change. I'll be right back." She ducked quickly into her bathroom, pulling on a more suitable pair of jeans and a black t-shirt that didn't fit her like a sack. She still didn't bother with any make-up, but she forced her hair into a ponytail. She emerged a few minutes later to find that John had collected the dishes from her room service order. She flushed a little. "Sorry…I don't normally live like this."

John laughed and shook his head, he was now lounging on her bed, with an open can in his hand. "Don't worry about it. You should see my room." Sevina took the beer he offered her, then sat on the bed facing him, crossing her legs. "So, how'd you know?…that I was having a bad day, I mean."

"Well, I came up here with Matt earlier and you didn't answer the door, then I tried calling but again, no answer. I tried a few times, but got nothing, so I figured you had either fallen over, banged your head and were now bleeding to death, or you were having a bad day."

Sevina looked at him, with her beer halfway to her lips, then laughed and nodded. "That was you that was calling me? Why? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Matt lost Jeff and thought he might have been with you. He was really worried for some reason, I didn't ask. Found Jeff in the end." Sevina's expression had become rather anxious until John said that they'd found Jeff. She nodded and then took a large mouthful of her beer.

"So, you and Jeff…are you guys…?" Sevina choked on her beer, having to put a hand over her mouth to stop from spitting it out. John looked alarmed and lightly whacked her on the back to cease her choking. She winced a little, then calmed down and shook her head. "No. Hell no."

"No then?" John was smirking and Sevina hit him, shaking her head again. John nodded and left the subject alone after that. They talked about nothing, but soon ran out of beer. They then argued for a while over whether to order some to the room (Sevina didn't like this idea because she had to pay for any extras) or going to the bar for some (John didn't like this because it meant he had to move). Sevina finally managed to convince John that going down to the bar would be a better idea.

She quickly shoved her feet into her boots and then dragged him out of the room before he could change his mind. The bar was busy and it took a while for them to get their drinks. John was complaining the whole time that it would have been better if they'd stayed in the room. As Sevina spotted Jeff across the room, she began to agree with him. She sighed and John seemed to notice the drop in her mood. He frowned a looked and followed her gaze. He said nothing as he figured it was Jeff she was looking at. "Hey, Ataera… you want a light? Don't want you passing out on me." Sevina looked at him and grinned, elbowing him in the ribs. "Shut up, Cena. Pay the woman." He laughed and they squeezed their way through the crowd to get to a table, as far from Jeff as possible.

Sevina could only just remember why Jeff had started acting weird around her in the first place and now avoiding him seemed strange, wrong. They'd never had a problem they couldn't work out, but this felt different. Somehow she just knew that Jeff didn't want her near him right now and whilst she was mad at him for not explaining it to her, she hoped he'd get over it soon and things would go back to normal.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N When I started writing this, I was determined that if one person enjoyed it, I would keep writing. So 'I Luv Hardy'; this is for you :D**

**Chapter 14**

**John and Sevina ended up quite drunk, arguing over who was better; HBK or Triple H. Of course, John had met them both and knew them fairly well, whilst Sevina had yet to meet them and was going only on her knowledge of them through watching the show. They were laughing as they argued and for the moment, Jeff was in the back of Sevina's mind.**

**At least, until he appeared beside their table. John noticed him first, whilst Sevina was still laughing. He nudged her and she immediately stopped, looking at Jeff with a frown. "Hi." Jeff nodded to her, not looking directly at her, before looking at John. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" John seemed confused, but nodded. They walked a few feet away and Sevina couldn't hear what they were saying above the noise in the bar. She watched their faces carefully. She didn't know John well enough to read him properly, but she could see a muscle ticking in his jaw and he seemed to be speaking through gritted teeth and gesturing with his hands a lot. Jeff, she knew well and she could see the anger in his face, the way that he angled his upper body away from John, but kept a firm stance with his feet. His arms were folded and he seemed to have drawn himself up to his full height defensively.**

**She chewed on her lip as she watched, then felt a kind of blind shock race through her as Jeff's fist suddenly connected with John's face. The next few seconds happened very quickly, resulting in an all out brawl in the bar. Sevina shot to her feet, ignoring the pain in her back. She felt her hand close around Jeff's arm, pulling him back, away from John. "Jeff! Hey! Stop it!"**

**John was on his feet again and looked ready to commit murder. Jeff looked at Sevina, then ripped his arm free. He looked around, seeing the stares of everyone in the bar, before he turned and stalked out. Sevina watched him in disbelief, before turning to John. "You okay?" John was touching the small cut on his bottom lip. He looked at her and nodded, but he was still clearly furious. "I'm sorry…I have to…" She motioned out of the door and John seemed to understand, not stopping her as she turned and ran out after Jeff. There was no way she was letting him get away with that.**

**She couldn't see him as she got outside, so she went up to his room. She banged on the door, but there was no answer. She could hear footsteps though, approaching the door, but stopping short. "Jeff, open this door right now!" Nothing. She glared at the wood and took a couple of steps back, calling out again; "If you don't open it, I am coming through it!" Still he didn't open it, so she threw her foot forwards, connecting with the wood hard enough for him to know she was serious. The door opened half a second later and Jeff was glaring at her. She almost blanched from the furious brightness of his emerald eyes. She didn't. She pushed her way past him and into the room.**

"**What do you want, Ataera?" His voice was cold and she glared at him again. She shook her head, spreading her arms out to her sides before letting them dropped. "What the hell was that?!"**

"**It's none of your business!"**

"**None of my business?! You're my friend!" She bit down on the inside of her lip, not adding that it sure as hell hadn't felt like it for the last couple of days. Jeff continued to glare at her, for the moment saying nothing. This inflamed her temper further and she approached him, slapping both of her hands against his chest, curling her fingers into his t-shirt and tugging on it sharply. "Talk to me! What the hell is going on with you?!"**

**Jeff continued to say nothing and it confused Sevina when the fire in his eyes suddenly shifted. It was a tiny change, but for someone who knew him as well as she did it was like being slapped across the face. She only had time to register the firm fingers curling painfully into her hair before his mouth was crushing against hers. She was too shocked to move. He tasted like alcohol and mint toothpaste.**

**Her fingers gripped his t-shirt harder as her mind spun with the implications of what was happening. It felt like hours, but could only have been a few seconds, before he pulled away. Sevina gasped for air and stared at him. He looked as shocked as she did. He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut across him; "No. Don't. Don't you dare! Don't you dare use me to make yourself feel better!"**

**His face went blank with shock, but she was already past him. She slammed his door as hard as she could and ran to her room. Once she was inside, she locked the door and threw herself onto the bed as the first sob wrenched itself out of her body. She didn't know which she was crying for; Jeff or herself.**

**When they had first met, Sevina and Jeff had been close enough to have a very brief relationship. It had only lasted six months before they had agreed that they were much better as friends. It had never been awkward or difficult and the subject had never been brought up again. He had met Beth and their lives had continued as usual. Sevina had dated, but not had a proper relationship and once, only once, Jeff had asked whether this was because of him. It wasn't, not exactly. Sevina had loved being with Jeff, he was a very attentive partner, never too jealous and he had showered her with gifts and affection. It was a high standard to set and she'd never met anyone who could equal it. She had been the one to call the split in their relationship and she had never regretted that choice. She was not in love with Jeff, she just knew that she would never be able to settle for a relationship that didn't match up to it.**

**She knew that Jeff was vulnerable right now. His mind was all over the place and he was having a hard time getting it straight, but that was no excuse. No excuse to turn to his friend, expecting automatic comfort. He'd barely looked at her the last two days and then he'd started a fight with John. Why in the hell had he even started that fight? Sevina frowned and sat up slowly, rubbing the tears off her face. She still didn't know what Jeff had wanted to talk to John about.**

**She chewed on her lip, then grabbed her cell. She flicked through her missed call list and found John's number. She pressed the call button and pressed the phone to her ear. She smiled a little when he answered. "Hey, it's Sevina. Can I come to your room?"…**


	15. Chapter 15

John said yes, but he was clearly still not in a brilliant mood. Sevina sat thoughtfully for a few minutes, before going down to the bar and grabbing a few beers. She then headed up to John's room, knocking with her foot, as both her hands were occupied. He opened it, with a scowl on his face. His lip was slightly swollen and he had a black eye threatening. He frowned at Sevina, but she just held up the beers, with a sheepish smile. "Peace offering?"

John couldn't help but smile and he stepped aside to let her in. It seemed, that no matter how much beer she plied him with, he wasn't going to tell her what had started the fight between him and Jeff and she had to concede, in great disappointment, that she wasn't going to find out. Especially since she had no plans of talking to Jeff any time soon. Asshole.

She didn't like thinking of Jeff that way and there was no real weight behind her anger at him, it was more frustration. If she knew what was going on with him in the first place she might have been able to help.

John picked up on the fact that, silences of any length gave her time to brood over whatever thoughts were bothering her, so he kept up a steady stream of conversation. Sevina knew what he was doing, but she allowed herself to be led. She didn't want to think right now, she just wanted to let it go for a while and John provided that option. His cocky self-assurance had her laughing and shaking her head indulgently. He was probably one of the most confident men she had ever met, he had no doubts about who he was and where he was going. It was a far reach from both of the Hardy brothers, who were prone to bouts of self doubt from time to time.

She explained to John about her new storyline with Matt and he found it hilarious. Matt was not often involved in romantic storylines anymore and Sevina had never been involved in one, so she had no idea what to expect. She shuddered at the thought of having to kiss Matt in front of everyone and this just set John off even more.

They talked until the early hours of the morning, long after the beer flow had run dry and neither could be bothered to get any more. Sevina fell asleep, the night's events having drained her of energy. John carefully picked her up and tucked her into his bed, then lay down beside her on the outside of the blankets. He lay on his back and folded his arms beneath his head, glancing at the sleeping woman beside him. She was certainly a character, not afraid to speak her mind and he knew that could lead to trouble for her in their profession, but she'd learn as she went along. She'd figure out when to hold her tongue and she'd be okay. Of that he was certain.

He didn't even realise that he'd fallen asleep until a pounding on his door woke him up. Groggily he dragged himself out of bed, careful not to wake Sevina who was still sleep, curled on her side with a hand stuffed under her cheek, her mouth slightly open. He smirked and jogged to the door. He opened it to find Matt Hardy on the other side, looking a little panicked. "Have you seen Sevina? I just heard about what happened in the bar last night and no-one's seen her since. Are you alright, by the way? I heard Jeff got you pretty hard. That's a nice black eye you're getting there."

Matt seemed to be on overdrive this morning and John just shook his head to silence the other man's incessant talking. He put a finger to his lips, then stepped back, motioning to the bed. Matt's eyes widened and he looked at Sevina, then at John, suddenly seeming embarrassed. "Um…okay. I didn't know you guys were…"

"We're not. She came over last night, just needed a break, I think. She fell asleep." Matt nodded slowly, his eyes now fixed on Sevina's form as she turned over restlessly, rubbing at her eyes and yawning before seeming to settle again. He then looked at John again, his eyes hardening in a look John knew well, he'd seen it whenever someone had threatened his brother in any way. It was that fierce protectiveness that only a big brother felt. "You better not have tried anything, Cena."

"Like I would. Chill out. You better talk to your brother, though. I dunno what his problem is, but I can take a punch in the face, what he's putting her through is much worse."

"Why? What did she say?" Matt was frowning again. John shrugged and glanced into the room, seeing Sevina stir again. He lowered his voice as he looked at Matt. "That's just it. She didn't say _anything._ Every other time I've talked to her she never shuts up about you guys. Jeff especially. She didn't even mention him last night, despite what happened in the bar."

Matt narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, then nodded to John and turned, walking away down the corridor. John watched him for a moment, before going back into his room. Sevina was beginning to wake up, rubbing her eyes and stretching. He saw her wince a little as her back clicked in several places. "You okay, girl?" Sevina nodded mutely and sat up. John laughed. Her hair looked like she'd received a severe electric shock. She scowled at him and tried to tame it into submission. It was a losing battle and she soon gave up. She continued to rub at her eyes, yawing widely. "What time is it?"

"Just after ten." John glanced at the lock as he spoke, then moved to sit on the edge of the bed, looking at her. "Sleep okay?" Sevina grimaced in response and stretched again. She was pretty useless when she first woke up. John found it extremely amusing, but the humour was wiped away when he saw her looking at him with something close to horror in her face. "What's wrong?"

She said nothing, but reached out and lightly touched the darkening bruise around his eye. He winced a little. "I can't believe he hit you." Her voice was horse from sleep and she lowered her light fingers to his mouth, just fluttering them over his swollen lip like a worried mother would to an injured child. John's fingers closed around her hand, drawing it away from his face. "I'm alright. I've had worse. Trust me. Now come on, sleeping beauty. Get up and I'll take you out for breakfast."

Sevina smiled a little and nodded. She dragged herself out of the bed and somehow found her way back to her room, with John's promise to come and find her if she wasn't back in twenty minutes. She showered quickly, letting the warm water wake her up properly. She glanced outside and saw that it was sunny. She pulled on a pair of combat pants and a fitted black t-shirt. She pulled her hair back into it's trademark ponytail and shoved her feet into her boots a little haphazardly. The knock on her door surprised her and she glanced at her watch. It had only been ten minutes. "John, this is a little enthusiastic.." She stopped as she opened the door to find Jeff on the other side. "Oh."

He didn't look at her, again. He was just gazing over her shoulder. "Can I come in?" She considered shutting the door in his face, but nodded and stepped back. He brushed past her, being careful not to touch her. She then shut the door, with a little more force than necessary. "What do you want, Hardy?"

She threw his last name at him as if it were an insult, just as he had done to her the previous night. He winced and she felt a dart of satisfaction. He looked around distractedly, before shoving his hands into his pockets and frowning at her feet. "I wanted to apologise…for what I did. I know it was wrong of me."

"Fine. We done?" Sevina was not giving him an inch. He flicked his eyes to her face, but found that it was completely closed off, her eyes dead of all emotion. When he said nothing, she walked back to the door and made to open it, but his hand covered hers before she could. She pulled it back as if he'd stung her and that movement caused him more pain than anything else. He frowned at her. "Wont you just listen to me?"

"For what, Jeff? For more riddles? Or for you to try and make some kind of excuse for how you've been acting? I don't know what I did that was so damned bad, but you've made your feelings pretty clear! I don't know what your problem is, but I am not gonna be a silent victim to your tantrum!"

"Tantrum?! That's what you think this is?!"

"What the hell else am I supposed to think?! First you steal Matt's car, then you pull that ridiculous stunt on the roof, then you stop talking to me! Then last night…God, last night! You start a fight with John for _nothing,_ then…" She choked on her own voice, unable to force the words out of her throat. Jeff shook his head, clearly getting agitated. He grabbed her shoulders, as if to force her to listen but she wrenched herself free of his grasp. She was glaring at him with such fury in her gaze that he actually stepped back. "I don't even know you anymore!"

Jeff stared at her, then turned and pulled the door open, only to find John Cena with his hand raised, about to knock. They stared at one another in mute shock for a moment, before John's gaze darkened angrily. Jeff scowled at him in return and he motioned to John's bruises. "Nice face." Without another word, he stalked past him and off down the corridor.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N This chapter is kind of a filler. I needed to write it to get it out of the way so I could get to the good stuff :D**

Sevina was quiet through breakfast and John made no attempts to draw her out of it. He could respect when a person needed time to think everything through. He could tell that she was brooding as her fingers pulled apart a bagel, not even trying to eat it. Eventually, he'd had enough. He reached over and grabbed her hands to stop her from ruining a perfectly good breakfast. "Look at me, Ataera." He didn't fail to notice the wince as he said her last name and he frowned, until she flicked her eyes to his with a questioning expression. "I don't know what's going on with you and Jeff, but the guy's being a jackass. Don't let it bring you down. You've got a lot to look forward to this week."

Sevina chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, then nodded and sat back, pulling her hands gently free. She ran her fingers through her ponytail, then smiled at John with only the minimal difficulty. "You're right. Of course, you're right. I shouldn't be letting it get to me so much. It's just…You know what? I don't even know." She shook her head, picking up one of pieces of shredded bagel and popping it in her mouth. It seemed as if the tension broke after that and they both relaxed into a natural flow of conversation. Something about John seemed to make people feel at ease and Sevina was definitely benefiting from that. There were no games with him, no emotional politics and it was easy.

After breakfast, John had to run off to meet some of the guys to go over his script for Raw, so Sevina headed back to the hotel. She walked into the gym and saw Jeff across the room. As soon as he spotted her, he looked down and began speaking quietly to Matt who was beside him. Matt's eyes flashed to Sevina and he frowned. She scowled at him, then turned on her heel and left. This had to be one of the worst starts to a WWE career that anyone had ever had.

She spent most of the day in her room, going over and over her script for Raw the next day. She knew it back-to-front but it almost kept her mind off what was troubling her. Matt was her connection to this company. She'd been relying on him to help her find her feet, but she couldn't blame him if he wanted to side with Jeff in whatever this was that was going on, (she still didn't get it) it just made things more difficult for her.

When she had exhausted her script, she paced the room. She picked up her cell and scrolled through her phonebook. She hesitated over John's name, but seeing Jeff's directly above it made her scowl and keep going. She stopped at Matt, her thumb just hovering over the call button. She debated with herself for a few minutes before finally hitting the button. She sat down on her bed as it rang. When he answered, she felt an irrational wave of relief fly over her. "Hey. It's Vina."

"Hey, Kid. How's it going?"

"Um…not so great actually. Are you busy?" Matt hesitated and she took that to mean he was with Jeff. She sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"No. I'm not busy. I'll be right up."

"Thanks." She hung up the phone and threw it on the bed. She bit down on her lower lip and looked at the door. She waited. And she waited. She glanced at the clock. Thirty minutes. No Matt. She started pacing again, at one point even opening the door and looking up and down the corridor. Nothing. No sign of him. Three hours later and he still had not appeared. Sevina was beside herself. What the hell was going on? She tried calling Matt again but it just rang out, no answer. She could feel herself getting more and more wound up as the time went on and he didn't show. Okay, so she and Jeff were having problems and naturally Matt was going to stick by his brother. She could deal with that, but saying he was gonna come up and then just not showing was a low blow. She tried his cell again, this time it cut off after only a couple of rings and she pulled her phone away from her ear to stare at it. Had he just _hung up_ on her?!

She swore and threw her phone at the wall, watching it split into several different pieces. She'd had enough of this. She grabbed her coat and left the room. She shoved her arms into the garment as she walked, half running down the stairs into the lobby. John, who had been stood by the doors talking to Chris, spotted her and quickly excused himself. "Hey! Ataera! Where you going?!" He ran to catch up with her, but she didn't stop, ducking her head as the rain hit her once she was outside. John caught her up and grabbed her arm before she could get onto the street. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Sevina lifted her head and looked at him, pulling her arm free. "Everything. Nothing. I just…I need to get out of here." She didn't explain anymore as she turned for the parking lot. John was still following her anxiously as she climbed into her rental car. He could see she was in quite a state and before she could drive off, he jumped into the car. She didn't even acknowledge him as she sped out of the lot, making the tyres screech in protest. She burst out onto the road and John was all bit gripping the seat at the speed she was going. "Slow down, will you? You're gonna get us killed!"

"I didn't invite you along, John. So just shut up." Her harshness stunned him into silence and he just watched the road as she swerved in and out of the traffic, heading out of the city. Once they were onto open road she seemed to relax a little, sitting back in her seat and releasing her death grip on the steering wheel. John looked at her and spoke in a tentative voice. "So, are you gonna tell me what this is about?"

"Matt and Jeff _fucking _Hardy!" John's question had obviously riled her again. He tried a different tactic. He knew this place quite well, so he pointed to a turn off. "Go down there." When she gave him a questioning look, he just shrugged and said; "Trust me." She gave him the benefit of the doubt and took the turning he had pointed out. They drove in silence for a while before coming up the marina. The water was gold in the fading sun and Sevina stared at it as she slowed and finally stopped a few feet from the edge. The area they had stopped in was surrounded by trees and obviously not a frequented spot. She frowned a little and looked at John. "Why here?"

"Why not here?" She couldn't really argue with that. She was out of the city and that was what she had wanted, even if she could see it across the water. She sighed and leaned heavily against her seat, closing her eyes. John watched her carefully. "You wanna talk about it?" She shook her head a little. "Okay, you wanna go for a walk?"

Sevina opened her eyes and looked at him. "It's raining."

"So?" She smiled involuntarily and nodded. They both climbed out of the car. Sevina shoved her hands into the pockets of her coat and John moved to walk beside her. They wandered up the narrow trail in the trees, heading into the woods, but keeping close to the water. They were silent for a long time, before John lay an arm across her shoulders and drew her into his side. "I don't know what's going on. I'm not gonna ask. I just want you to know that I'm here, okay?"

She tilted her head to look at him and smiled a little, before resting her head on his shoulder. That was something she liked about John, he never pushed, or felt he was entitled to know everything that was going on. After a while Sevina moved away from him and walked to the edge of the water at a break in the trees. She stood, staring out over the glassy surface. He walked to stand behind her, but said nothing. She sighed and tilted her head back a little to look at the darkening sky. "I feel like I've lost control. Everything's gone so wrong since I signed that contract. It wasn't meant to be this way. I worked my whole life to get here and I always figured Matt and Jeff would be waiting for me when I finally made it, but now, Jeff wont even talk to me and I don't know why. He's acting like…I don't even exist most of the time and of course, Matt's gonna side with him. I mean, it's his brother. They're my best friends, like brothers to me and…I don't wanna do this without them."

John listened and didn't interrupt. He moved slowly to stand beside her. He looked over the water, keeping his eyes focused on that as he spoke. "Not to play devil's advocate here, but, Jeff's gotta be missing it. I mean, since the story broke about him having the drugs in his house, there's almost no chance anyone's gonna take him on now. You've got all the things he wants. Maybe he's jealous." Sevina frowned, she'd never looked at it that way. "Did you say that to him? Is that why he hit you?"

"No, that was…something else." Sevina looked over at him, but he was still staring at the water. She shoved her hands back into the pockets of her coat, turning her body to face him. "Why wont you tell me?"

"Trust me, Ataera, you don't want to know."

"Let me decide that." John looked at her, seeming to search her face for something before speaking in a strangely quiet voice. "He was warning me off. Telling me to stay away from you. I told him that I was gonna stick around as long as you wanted me there. That's when he hit me." Sevina was stunned and couldn't speak for a few moments, but then anger took over. "What?! Who the hell does he think he is?! He doesn't talk to me for days and then…!" She trailed off, before turning and thundering back up the track towards the car. John's eyes widened and he ran after her. "Now where are you going?!"

"I'm going to find him and then I'm going to kill him!" John stopped short for a moment, then took off after her again, only just managing to get in the car before she spun it back out to the road. She said nothing as she drove back to the hotel. Her hands were so tight on the steering wheel that her knuckles turned white. She parked diagonally across two spaces in the parking lot and dove out of the car before John had time to say a word. He struggled to keep up with her as she ran back inside. He swore as he spotted Matt walking towards them. Sevina almost barrelled into him.

"Sevina! I was looking for you. Listen, I'm really sorry about earlier, I-"

"I don't care. Where is he?!" Matt was visibly taken aback by the violence in her tone and he knew full well who she was talking about. His eyes flicked to John and it all started to fall into place. "Vina, I don't think-"

"Matt, tell me where the fuck he is!" That shocked him even more. Sevina only cursed when she was really, really mad. They were still in the lobby of the hotel and attracting quite a lot of attention. Matt squirmed uncomfortably, not sure what to do for the best. "He's in his room, but I really don't think you should…"

He trailed off as she shot past him. He looked at John, who gave him a sympathetic look before charging after her. When she reached Jeff's room, she didn't bother knocking, she just kicked the door until it flew open. Jeff had been lying on his bed, but now shot upright in alarm. "What the hell are you doing?!" He rose to his feet and Sevina entered the room. "I am going to kill you!"

She lunged at him, clear violent intent in her eyes…

**A/N If you read, PLEASE review. I really want to know what people think! :D**


	17. Chapter 17

She didn't get far before John's arms grabbed her and held her back. She fought against him furiously, her livid navy eyes, turned black by her anger, were trained solely on the rainbow haired man in front of her. Jeff looked shocked, to say the least. He'd seen her mad, but never this mad. He couldn't find any words and just stared at her. She didn't seem to share his problem. "Who the hell do you think you are?! What gives you the right to involve yourself in my life?! You bastard! You didn't speak to me for no reason and you think you can still stick your fat head in!" Her voice as close to a scream as she clawed at John's arms as he tried to restrain her.

Without thinking, she threw her head back, feeling it connect with John's jaw, sending him staggering back. She lunged at Jeff again, hitting him hard enough to knock him back onto the bed. She pummelled him with her fists. He didn't fight back, but tried to grab her arms and stop her. She was relentless, hitting every inch of him that she could reach. The whole time she was screaming insults at him. The noise attracted the attention of the other superstars staying in the adjacent rooms and within a few minutes, they had her off Jeff. She didn't looked to see who it was, but she knew that there were at least two people holding her. She was glaring at Jeff, gasping for breath. He was sat up now, a hand to his bleeding lip, still staring at her silently as if she were some alien creature. "Stay the hell away from me, Hardy! I swear to god I'll kill you!"

She didn't get time to say any more as she was forcibly removed from the room. She felt iron hands around her upper arms, but she was still too angry to bother looking to see who it was. Her fury only cooled when she saw John. He was stood, leaning against the wall, rubbing his jaw. "Shit, John!" She pulled free of her captors, who seemed confident now to let her go. She ran over to him and threw her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest. She felt him tense slightly as if expecting another blow, before he relaxed and linked his arms loosely around her. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Hey, it's okay. I'm alright. You didn't do any lasting damage." There was something close to amusement in his voice. Her reaction was a little over the top. She didn't care, she just hugged him tighter, banging her forehead lightly against his chest. All the anger seemed to have drained out of her and the realisation of what she had done was beginning to set in. She swore repeatedly and shut her eyes tight. John sighed a little and manoeuvred her around so that she was tucked into his side. "Come on. I think you've had enough excitement for one day." He led her slowly back to her room. Waving lightly to Chris Jericho and Randy Orton, who were watching the scene with bemused but entertained expressions. Matt was hovering in the background, waiting for everyone to clear out before he went into Jeff's room.

He found his brother sitting on the edge of the bed, with his head in his hands. Matt just stood by the doorframe before sighing loudly and walking into the room. "Well…I think you fucked that one up nicely, Jeffro."

Jeff just gave a pained moan by way of telling Matt to shut up. He was all too aware of the monumental screw up he'd made of everything. In truth, he was surprised it had taken this long for Cena to crack and tell her what was going on. He'd figured he'd be all too keen to squeal about Jeff's threats. Still, that wasn't exactly the reaction he'd been expecting. Matt seemed to sense this and sat down on the bed beside Jeff. "He didn't tell her everything. I spoke him to him, whilst Chris and Randy were getting her out of here. He gave her a basic cut-down version of the conversation, but I doubt he did it for your benefit."

Jeff sighed and lifted his head. He stared at the broken door, frowning. That made more sense. If she'd known the rest…Christ. Her reaction would probably have been twice as bad, if that were possible. He went to stand up, but winced and put a hand to his ribs, cursing under his breath. Matt snorted slightly with amusement. "She got you good."

"What the hell about this is so funny to you?" Jeff scowled at his brother, who put his hands up in a submissive gesture. Matt shook his head and slapped a hand onto Jeff's shoulder. "Well, come on, it's you and Vina. You guys can't be mad at each other for long."

"I think this is different, Matt. She hates me."

"I highly doubt that. You know, none of this would have happened if you weren't such a jackass and you'd told her what was going on. Ignoring her turned out to not be one of your better plans."

"I put her in the hospital, Matt! She doesn't need a friend like me. I figured…she'd just be better off."

"Well, you figured wrong, didn't you. Come on, Jeff. You know she's no good without you. She's no good without either of us. We're her best friends. If it weren't for us, she'd never have gotten into this business, she wouldn't have everything she's dreamed about. You can't protect her from everything, buddy. She's gonna get hurt sometimes. You just have to deal with that. She chose this life, not you. It's not up to you. Besides, ignoring her didn't do so well for you either, if you remember. Brought a few things to the front of your mind." He reached out and tapped his brother's bruised forehead only to have his hand slapped away by an agitated Jeff.

"I was trying to protect her from me."

"What, by ignoring her? Then warning Cena off? You can't ignore somebody and then start having a go at their boyfriend. Doesn't work like that dude."

"He's not her boyfriend…not yet anyway." Jeff seemed thoroughly disheartened and Matt just slapped his shoulder again and stood up. "Deal with it, Jeff. It's the only option you have right now. I'll get you some ice." He nodded and then walked out of the room, leaving Jeff to his thoughts.

John walked Sevina to her room and waited whilst she showered and changed, then helped her into bed. He turned to leave but she grabbed his arm and pulled him back, frowning. "Would you stay?" John's eyebrows went up, but he nodded and laid down beside her. She threw the blankets over him and rested her head on his shoulder. She sighed a little and closed her eyes. "I'm really sorry I head butted you." John laughed and wormed an arm around her shoulders, hugging her lightly. "Don't worry about it. If it bruises, I'll just tell the guys that a dude did it."

Sevina laughed, it was a breathy sound, not really amused, but as close to it as she could get right now. She couldn't believe she'd just attacked Jeff. He was her best friend. He was…he was _Jeff_. She sighed again and turned her face into John's shoulder. She pondered this new friendship. Of course, she'd seen him on the t.v, she'd watched the shows religiously, but she'd never expected to actually get along with him. He was definitely one of the good guys, so why wasn't she attracted to him? It was also pretty obvious that he wasn't attracted to her either. There had been plenty of opportunities, but nothing, no hint of anything more than a strong friendship in the making.

It was irritating Sevina, she should feel something else, surely. He was a nice guy, he would surely be a good pick for dating. She tilted her head to look at him, he had flicked on the t.v and was watching it intently. He was good looking, he was sweet and funny. She liked him. She could talk to him and hang out with him, no awkwardness, no need for deep conversation, no worrying about drawing careful lines of friendship. John seemed to sense her eyes and he looked at her with his eyebrows raised. "Is the t.v keeping you awake?"

Sevina smiled and shook her head. She rested against his shoulder again and closed her eyes. She had a long day tomorrow. Her first proper Raw experience and it was going to be one hell of a ride. She didn't know if Matt would be speaking to her, or if she was even speaking to him for that matter, since he hadn't bothered to show up at her room, but she refused to let that dominate her mind. She had worked for years to get this opportunity and she was going to enjoy every second of it. She had no idea who Matt's opponent would be tomorrow, but it didn't really matter. She was in the WWE and she was determined that, unlike everything else right now, she was not going to screw this up.


	18. Chapter 18

Sevina was hyped. She was stood in the locker room, jumping up and down. For the moment it was empty. She shook her hands and checked her appearance in the mirror. She was dressed in her ring gear, which consisted of specially designed bondage pants, designed to be more durable and stretchy that the usual ones. The links holding the loose straps to the pants were strong so they wouldn't snap, but had a quick release so they wouldn't get caught on anything. Her top was quite simple, plain black, form hugging with thick straps. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail Her feet were bare for the moment as she hopped around the locker room. She checked the clock. She had to go and do the backstage shots with Matt in five minutes. She sat on the bench and pulled on her ring boots, pulling the laces tight. Her hands were shaking a little and she suddenly forgot her lines. She swore and did some more hops around the room as she tried to clear her mind enough to remember them. She couldn't remember ever having been this nervous in her life.

There was a light knock at the door and she almost wrenched it off it's hinges in her haste to get it open. Matt lifted his eyebrows at her. "Excited, are we?"

"Matt!" Without thinking about it, Sevina threw her arms around him, hugging him fiercely. He returned the embrace and then pulled away and looked at her. "So, you forgive me?" Sevina nodded and then motioned for him to come inside. She made a few last minute adjustments and slowly taped her wrists. Matt was silent as he watched her, amused by her occasional hopping, which she didn't even seem to realise she was doing. He finally signalled that it was time for them to go and they wandered down the corridor to where the cameras were set up. Matt hopped up to sit on the pre-positioned crate and Sevina stood just off camera. When the cameras started rolling she walked into the shot. "Hey, Matt! I've been looking for you." She stopped beside him, planting her hands on the crate and leaning towards him slightly. Matt looked at her in surprise and then nodded. "Sorry, Sevina. What's up?"

She smiled in what could only be described as a catty fashion and then hopped to sit on the crate next to him. "I was wondering, since I am your manager now, would you mind if I came to ringside tonight for your match?" She pouted prettily at him and he just looked at her with an intense expression. A few seconds passed and their faces got very close together, before Sevina suddenly turned her head away, playing with the end of her ponytail. "I mean, if you think I would be a distraction…"

"No, no! You can come. I'd like that." Matt grinned at her and she smiled back in an obviously fake, innocent manner. They remained like that until they were told that they were clear. Sevina let out a long breath and grimaced, putting her hands over her face and peeking through her fingers at Matt. "That was horrible, wasn't it?" Matt laughed and grabbed her wrists, pulling her hands down from her face. "It was great. Stop stressing, woman. We've still got the match to go."

"Yeah, of course. Wait, who are you against?" Matt shook his head, shrugged as he jumped off the crate. "No idea. I'll find out just before I get out there." Sevina nodded, a little confused. She'd assumed they always knew who they were against. She obviously had a lot to learn. "Well, we're not up for…twenty minutes, so I'm gonna go back to the locker room. Meet me at the curtain, okay?" She waved and wandered off. She got back to the dressing room and opened it to find Melina, sitting on the bench, with her knees drawn up, looking sickly. "Hey, you okay?"

She wandered over and sat down beside her. Sevina didn't know the other diva very well, but she could tell something was wrong. Melina looked at her with wide eyes and she'd clearly been crying. She shook her head and then lowered her face, as if ashamed at being found. "No, no…just…hormonal, I guess." Sevina's eyebrows went up and she didn't believe her for a second, but being new around here, she didn't want to step on any toes, so she let the matter drop. "Okay, well…you know where I am, right?" She offered a friendly smile, then stood up and left the room again, figuring the other woman would want some time alone. She paused only long enough to grab her ipod.

She found a secluded corridor, that wasn't filled with stretching or chatting superstars and staff. She lay down on the cold, concrete floor and stuck her earphones in. She lifted her ipod above her head so she could see it and whizzed through her song list. She didn't stop until she found Breaking Benjamin, I Will Not Bow. She closed her eyes and let the lyrics invade her brain. The song was a strong source of inspiration for her and she put it on repeat. It always got the blood flowing through her body and got her ready to take on anything. She lay there, completely zoned out, unaware of the filming going on down the hall from her. She wasn't in shot, so they didn't bother asking her to move.

A light tap to her side made her jump and her eyes flew open. She saw John standing over her, his foot extended where he'd softly kicked her. She sat up, pulling her earphones out and smiling. "Hey." John grinned and held out a hand to help her to her feet. "I just wanted to say good luck tonight. I know you must be freaking out." Sevina grinned and nodded. She didn't protest as John planted a kiss on her forehead and she put her arms around him in a tight hug. What neither knew was that at that exact moment, the camera had swung away from Josh Matthew's interview with Cody Rhodes and settled directly on them. All they heard was the loud uproar from the crowd. The feed died moments later and they were both none-the-wiser. They just figured the match going on at the moment must be getting good.

Sevina and John parted ways as Sevina when to find Matt. He was looking at her with a very amused expression. "What?" He said nothing but grabbed her arm and pulled her to one of the monitors. He nodded to one of the crew who put it on a playback and showed her the moment that the camera had caught. Sevina's eyes went wide and she looked at Matt. "Oh my god." Matt laughed and nodded, leading her away again. "I'll say. Vince is gonna do one of two things with this. He'll either ignore and pretend it never happened, or he's gonna work it into our storyline, because I just found out who I'm against tonight…"

Sevina covered her face. "Don't tell me…" She could already guess. How had she made such a huge mistake on her first day! Vince was going to kill her! Matt seemed to be much more jovial about this than she was, seeming confident that it wasn't as big a deal as she thought. Sevina scowled at him, but felt as if she were in no position to put up a good argument, so she settled for silently hating herself.

She heard John's music come on and saw him walk past them winking as he ducked under the curtain and Sevina could see the glint of laughter in his face that meant he knew what had happened. Sevina stood, nervously waiting for Matt's music to come on. Moments before it was due to, Matt grabbed her arm. "Just so you know, Jeff's front row." Sevina closed her eyes as he said that and felt her stomach lurch sickeningly. She'd always hoped Jeff would here the for her first proper involvement in WWE, but not like this. Not this way. She nodded slowly and then Live for the Moment began blaring out of the speakers and they were up. Sevina took a deep breath and the plastered a sly smile on her face and walked through the curtain behind Matt, ready to face her future…


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N I don't really like this chapter, but it's necessary _ Thanks to I Luv Hardy for your support. Means the world to me :)**

Sevina took her place at ringside, she could feel all the eyes on her, all wondering about her, about what they'd seen between her and John. She tuned it out and looked across the ring, her eyes locked momentarily with a set of emerald green. Jeff. She quickly turned her eyes up to the ring before his presence could distract her, but she could feel his gaze on her. The match started and Matt and John locked up. John seemed to have the upper hand to begin with, hitting Matt with an Irish Whip and then an elbow drop to the gut whilst he was down. He dragged Matt up by his hair and bounced him off the ropes, but Matt ducked and on the second rebound caught John in the Side Effect.

Sevina was riveted and almost forgot her cue as John had Matt down and apparently out and climbed up to the top turnbuckle to flaunt at the crowd. Sevina just remembered what she was meant to be doing and jumped up on the apron, getting in John's face, giving Matt time to recover. Then John did something that was not in the plan. His hands clasped Sevina's face roughly and he kissed her. It was one of those heart-stopping, mind blowing kisses and once he was finished, he shoved her face away. She dropped back off the apron, her expression as shocked as most of the crowd.

Matt seemed just as taken aback, but recovered quickly and got John with a neck breaker. When John was on the mat, he climbed the turnbuckles and let out his usual shout, before executing a perfect leg drop. Sevina gripped the edge of the apron, leaning on her hands and looking under the bottom rope. John was lying pretty still, so Matt covered him. 1...2...John's shoulder came up just before the ref could call the three count. Matt pulled John to his feet, but John twisted out of his grasp and hit Matt with a clothesline. He then went street and started pummelling Matt with his fists and forearms. Sevina was shouting, her work brain taking over. She was banging on the apron, trying to rouse Matt. John got him into the STF-U submission hold and Matt began grasping towards the ropes. Just as he got close, John rolled, not releasing his hold, bringing Matt to the centre of the ring.

Matt's struggles were getting weaker and weaker, so Sevina took the opportunity to intervene. Up onto the apron she went again, shouting at the ref. She successfully distracted him and in that time, Matt managed to break free of John's hold. He rolled away and lay on his back on the mat. John went for the cover, but Matt got his shoulder up in time. John punched the mat and got to his feet. Matt dragged himself up and seemed to gain a sudden momentum. He hit move after move and then threw John against the ropes. John ducked on the second rebound, but Matt caught him in the perfect position for the Twist of Fate. He paused, looking at Sevina, then grinned and executed the move. John was done and he didn't kick out from the pin this time.

Sevina climbed into the ring and Matt grinned at her, putting an arm over her shoulders as the ref raised his other hand.** "Here is your winner, Matt Hardy!"**

Sevina screamed as Matt suddenly lurched forward and hit the deck. She turned to see John, holding a steel chair. He was looking at Matt like he hated him. He then flashed his eyes to Sevina, dropped the chair and slipped out of the ring, storming up the ramp. Sevina stared after him and then dropped down beside Matt.

-----

Backstage there was a lot of noise. Matt was fine, but needed to see the trainer because he'd pulled a muscle in his calf. Sevina went looking for John. She spotted him talking on his phone. He hung up when he saw her and she ran to him, jumping into his arms, which opened for her. He hugged her tight and spun her around. "Ew! John, you're all sweaty!" She laughed and he put her down. He looked at her and then grinned. "Sorry about the whole, kissing thing. Thought I'd make good on it whilst it was fresh. You were great, Ataera!" Sevina grinned and nudged him lightly. "Yeah, I was, wasn't I?" They both laughed and then Matt came around the corner, an ice pack strapped to the bottom of his leg. Sevina wandered over to him, smiling. "Hey, you alright?" Matt nodded and smiled at her, hitting his knuckles against hers. "We make a pretty good team, Kid." Sevina couldn't disagree. She then noticed his eyes weren't on her anymore, they were on John and he was looking a lot less friendly. "What the hell was that, Cena?"

John shrugged amicably and folded his arms. "I figured it would go well with the little snapshot beforehand." Matt didn't seem happy, but he kept his opinions to himself, not wanting to inflame the situation. He knew that he was going to have a rough time with Jeff back at the hotel. From the corner of his eye, he'd seen his brother rise to his feet when John had kissed Sevina and knew that he'd been half a second away from jumping the barrier. He didn't mention this to either John or Sevina as he turned and headed for the locker room. Sevina rolled her eyes at his back, then nudged John with her elbow. "You coming out tonight? Or are you flying home?"

They had four days down time and most of them were going home. Matt, Jeff and Sevina were all supposed to be flying back to Cameron the next day, so they were going out with the other superstars tonight. Of course, Sevina only knew this from Matt's numerous phone calls that morning, when she had still be unsure of whether she was talking to him or not. She had come to the conclusion that if John wasn't going, she wouldn't either. He was the only other person she was friendly with and she didn't want to have to hang out with Matt and Jeff, when the latter was the last person she wanted to see. "Yeah, I'm going. I promised someone that I would." Sevina's eyebrows went up, but John just grinned and shrugged before shuffling off.

Sevina turned and jogged back to the ladies locker room. She made her way through the other divas so that she could grab a shower, avoiding the questions that were fired her way. She wasn't sure what Mr McMahon was going to make of her antics with John so she didn't want to make a big thing out of it. She hovered in the shower for much longer than necessary until she was sure that everyone was gone.

-----

The bar was packed. There were superstars everywhere, enjoying a night of partying before going on downtime the next day. Sevina stood by the bar, waiting for her drink. She had picked her outfit carefully, a black, satin corset, set off with a floor length, open front brown skirt, underneath she had a pair of black leather shorts. Her feet were encased in knee high boots with numerous buckles and a stiletto heel. Her hair was down, falling in light waves over her shoulders and down her back. She had never been particularly comfortable with the usual 'clubbing' attire and always settled for something a bit less revealing.

Just as the barmaid handed her, her drink, she felt two hands grip her waist. She turned, looking over her shoulder to see John grinning at her. He bent low to speak in her ear above the loud music. "Come and meet the guys." Sevina lifted her eyebrows, but allowed herself to be led away. As they approached the booth that John had been seated at, Sevina found herself feeling a little star struck. Sitting, talking between themselves were the men she knew mostly as Kane and The Undertaker. Of course she knew their real names, but she'd spent her life watching them both with awe. They both looked up as John walked over with her. Mark was the first to speak. "Hi. You joining us?"

Sevina's mouth opened and closed uselessly for a few moments and she saw Glen nudge Mark, smirking a little. "I think she's freaked out." Sevina mentally shook herself, determined not to turn into a complete gibbering fool. She smiled in an apologetic way. "Sorry…Just strange, seeing you guys in the flesh." John motioned for her to sit down at the table and she did so, carefully arranging her skirt first. She was glad it was quite dark in here because it masked the flush that had crept up to her cheeks. John sat down beside her and made the proper introduction. "Mark, Glen, this is Sevina Ataera. Sevina, Mark Calaway and Glen Jacobs. Smackdown's rolling into town this week so we got them both."

Mark and Glen were very amused by Sevina's inability to speak properly around them at first and Sevina was pleasantly surprised to find that they were both very different to their on-screen personas and that they got along very well. All those years working together had clearly made for a very solid friendship. Eventually, her tongue loosened and she was able to converse with them normally. She still felt extremely intimidated. These men knew this business better than almost anybody, they'd been doing this for so many years, whilst she had only just come into it. She was partly worried that they would feel they were above her and look at her like a foolish child, who didn't know what she was doing, but that wasn't the case. They were very pleasant and eager to share their experiences.

All in all, it was turning out to be a good night. Sevina was convinced to dance with Mark, which caused much laughter because everyone automatically moved out of his way when they saw him coming and more to the point, neither of them could dance. Mark helped her to stand after falling on her butt and at that moment there was a loud crash from the other side of the club. Normally, it would have been ignored by most of them and gone so quickly that it turned into a mere blip on the night's radar. So, in retrospect, Sevina wasn't sure what made her turn. Some instinct had drawn her eyes and they automatically found Matt who was struggling to restrain his brother. Jeff was lashing out wildly in an attempt to get free, clearly enraged. Sevina frowned and looked past them to where she saw John, being held back by Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. Sevina flicked her eyes to their booth, she was certain John had been there only moments ago.

John was obviously just as furious as Jeff, fighting against the arms that held him, determined to get at the younger Hardy brother. Sevina had never seen an expression like that on his face. Pure rage all boiling up and turning him into something savage. All the playful laughter was gone from his face. Sevina wasn't aware that she was moving or why she moved straight past Jeff and stood in front of John. Her hands were on his face and she could hear her own voice as if it were coming from miles away. "John! John, stop! John, look at me." She saw his eyes finally focus on her and the anger seemed to fall away. His shoulder slumped a little and she saw regret flash into his expression. Randy and Cody let him go, knowing instinctively that he wasn't going to continue his attempts to rip Jeff limb from limb. Sevina nodded to him, her hands falling from his face.

She turned slowly, her eyes finding Matt's, he was still holding Jeff, but the younger man was still now. Sevina felt her stomach twisting with anxiety as she finally made the drop and let her eyes clash with Jeff's. She almost flinched, he was still, but his eyes were alive and the anger and contempt she saw there was almost painful to look at. She'd never thought Jeff would look at her that way. He wrenched himself out of Matt's grasp and half ran out of the club, into the rain. Sevina was frozen for a moment, not sure why she felt guilty. She looked at John, who shook his head, with a slightly imploring expression on his face, but one look at her told him all he needed to know. She was already gone…


	20. Chapter 20

She cursed her heels as she ran out into the rain. She blinked a few times to get the water out of her eyes. She looked around for Jeff and saw him heading for the parking lot. She knew he had been drinking and there was no way she was going to let him get in a car. She ran after him, almost slipping because of her boots. "Hey!" He didn't turn, didn't even acknowledge her. If anything he sped up. She swore and continued to run after him. "Don't ignore me, Hardy!"

Jeff came to an abrupt halt, which almost caused Sevina to run into him. She managed to stop herself a few feet short. She stood, looking at his back, breathing heavily, barely aware of the rain soaking her clothes. She waited, but he didn't turn, he just kept his back to her and she saw that his hands were balled into fists. "Look at me!" He didn't. He kept his back to her as if he was just willing her to disappear. His head was slightly bowed and Sevina could see the tense set of his shoulders. She frowned, then impulsively reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him to face her. It half worked. She got him to turn, but his hand smacked hers away viciously. She gasped and pulled her hand back towards her chest, curling her fingers inwards as the shock ran up her arm. "Hadn't you better run back to your boyfriend?"

Jeff's voice was hard and cold. Sevina shook her head, lowering her hand from her chest. "He's not my boyfriend! Why are you acting like this?!"

"Me?! You're the one bust into my hotel room and attacked me! You're the one who told me to stay away from you!" Jeff was looking at her now, properly for the first time in what felt like forever but his gaze was furious, clearly on the edge of his temper. Sevina flinched a little. She didn't know what to do at that moment. She could almost see the chasm that had opened up between them and she didn't know how to bridge it. She didn't know how to fix it and suddenly she knew how important this conversation was. She knew that this was the make or break of everything they were and she couldn't figure out how they had reached this point. She felt the lump of emotion in her throat and the onset of panic as she was suddenly forced to contemplate a future without him. What if they couldn't move past this? "It wasn't supposed to be this way! You were supposed to be there for me! I don't know how make it right, I don't know why this happened!"

Jeff continued to glare at her as if she were all the awful things in life, embodied in one moment. He could see that she was upset and he knew that he had caused that. Fighting with John was petty, a stupid outlet for an unjustified anger and it had caused this. This moment. Right here, where their friendship, everything they had ever been, was balancing on the point of a knife, ready to fall. Ready to crash and burn into nothing. Was that what they would become? A whispered memory of a friendship burned to ash? How had it gone this far? "What do you want me to say?!"

Sevina shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment as she tried to figure out what was going on in her brain. Her every instinct was rejecting this, refusing to believe that this couldn't be fixed. "I just want things to be the way they were! I want to go back and make this never happen!"

"But you can't! Things can't be that way anymore, Sevina. Everything's changed!"

"How?! How has it changed in so short a space of time! Jeff, I miss you! I need you!" As she said it, the words thundered around her head. She _did_ need him. She couldn't breathe right when he wasn't talking to her. She couldn't breathe right _now._ She saw him turning to leave and the panic really set in. No, no, it wouldn't end like this. Not like this. Not now. She felt tears choking her, but they were masked by the rain. Her heart felt as if were cramping in her chest. She didn't let him get two steps before she pulled him back.

He frowned at her, he could see her teeth chattering from the cold and she was shivering. They were both drenched. He could see the absolute pain in her eyes and he hated himself for causing that. How had he done that? He tried to pull his arm out of her grasp, but she hung on. She wasn't letting go. Nothing would make her let go. She said she needed him, but she had gone to John first. "I'm sure it's a void that Cena can fill." The venom in his words hit her like a blow and he saw that. He saw the surprise and hurt in her face and hated himself all over again. She had to let go. She couldn't keep hanging onto him. He had to walk out of her life, there was no other choice now. He couldn't do the right thing by her anymore. He couldn't find the objectivity to do that. Their friendship was irreparably broken now and he knew that had been his fault, but it couldn't be fixed. Not anymore.

He thought that his final statement would weaken her resolve, so he was shocked to find that when he tried to pull away, her nails dug into his arm painfully, still refusing to relinquish her hold. "Sevina, let me go!"

"No! Jeff, please! Please, don't do this! We can make it right, somehow we can get past this! This can't be it! It can't…it can't..!" The tears overtook her then and her grip fell from his arm, her hands moving to cover her face. Jeff couldn't look at her, he couldn't watch as he tore her apart. He walked away from her then, leaving her there. He was soon out of sight and when he was, Sevina felt the hard concrete hit her knees as she collapsed under the weight of what had just happened. Her entire body convulsed with the searing pain that was fighting to get out of her. Sevina didn't cry, as a rule, but she felt as if her entire being were trying to pull itself apart and she couldn't quieten her sobs, though they were lost in the rain. He'd left her here. The alley between the club and the parking lot was empty and she didn't care if no-one ever came and found her. She didn't care if the world caved in on itself because all there was left for her, was the most horrific pain she'd ever experienced and she hadn't known she was capable of feeling. She didn't feel her head getting light as she hyperventilated, all she saw was the wet ground rushing up to greet her and then…nothing…


	21. Chapter 21

She barely registered waking up. Barely saw Matt's concerned face as he wrapped her in a blanket and lay her on her bed in the hotel. Her head was pounding where she'd hit the pavement and she winced a little, then shut her eyes again. She could hear Matt's voice, but couldn't make out the words. She didn't care. She let unconsciousness take her again.

Matt watched her. She was still soaked, but he was hardly the person to change her clothes, so instead he laid another blanket over her and set up a portable heater beside the bed, hoping to dry her off at least a little. He didn't know what had happened before he'd found her. She had been passed out on the floor and Jeff was nowhere in sight. He couldn't get hold of his brother and Sevina was so out of it, he didn't expect to get any information from her for a while. He had a feeling that whatever had gone on was worse than he could even realise. He'd assumed that after a while, Jeff and Sevina would stop being idiots and sort it out. They'd be friends again in no time, but now, he wasn't so sure and he wasn't sure who he felt more sympathy for.

He knew Jeff was being a jackass, but he also knew the reasons behind it. Sevina was confused, he could tell that she was trying to figure out what the hell was going on and Jeff wasn't helping. She couldn't know that Jeff thought he was doing the right thing, whilst Jeff couldn't see just what he was doing to Sevina. Matt loved them both and as he sat in the chair beside Sevina's bed, his wracked his brain to try and find some answer which would set the world right again. This entire situation was insane. Sure, Jeff and Sevina argued sometimes, but not like this. Not to the extent that it tortured them both. He had long since figured out the source of the friction between them, it had taken Jeff a bit longer, but Sevina was still oblivious. She had no idea what really lay behind all this.

He kept up his vigil beside her bed, refusing to leave. He tried calling Jeff a few times, but there no answer. He considered calling the doctor, there was a good chance that she had contracted hypothermia whilst she'd been laying out there in the rain, but he stopped himself. He'd wait until she woke up. If she hadn't woken by the morning, he would call someone. He wasn't sure what time it was and wasn't aware of falling asleep in the uncomfortable position he was sitting in.

He felt a light tap on his leg and his eyes shot open. He saw Sevina, leaning over with her hand braced on his leg. He sat up properly, wincing at the pain in his neck, then frowned at her. "Hey." Sevina nodded and moved her hand. She fell back against the pillows, letting out a long sigh. She looked like hell. Her eyes were surrounded by dark circles and her skin, though always pale, had taken on a gray tone. She didn't look at him and spoke in a voice that sounded painful. "How long was I out?" Matt looked at the clock, it was almost seven am. "About six hours, give or take a bit." Sevina nodded slowly and draped an arm over her eyes. There was silence for long time and Matt felt the need to say _something._ Anything to break it. "How are you feeling?"

This cued a dry laugh from Sevina and she shrugged awkwardly, not moving her arm from her eyes. "Like crap, but I'm sure I'll survive." Slowly, she eased herself up and out of bed. She glanced down at her clothes, which were still damp. Without a word, she headed into the bathroom and moments later Matt heard the sound of the shower running. He cursed softly and passed a hand over his eyes. "What did you do, Jeff?" He asked quietly. He knew then that he needed to find his brother. He wrote Sevina a quick note, telling her that he'd gone to get some coffee and then headed out. He checked Jeff's room, but he wasn't there and the door was still broken. He asked at the desk to see if anyone had seen him and the receptionist just pointed mutely in the direction of the gym. Matt frowned and headed down the corridor. He spotted his brother easily, since he was the only person in the room. He was on weight bench, not doing anything, but staring up at the bar over his head.

"You been here all night?" Jeff shot up into a sitting position, smacking his head on the bar as he did. He fell back down, wincing. Matt shook his head and moved to crouch beside the bench, looking at his brother. "What the hell happened last night?" Jeff didn't look at him and said nothing. Matt got the impression that he had no intention of it. He sighed and stood up. "I found Sevina passed out near the parking lot. Did you leave her there like that? It was freezing and raining, did you leave her there?!" His voice grew louder as Jeff still didn't look at him. Eventually, Jeff turned his eyes on Matt and his brother was shocked by the desolation that he saw there. "Is she okay?"

Matt shook his head again, moving restlessly from one foot to the other. "No, she's as far from it as it's possible to get. Physically, though, she's fine. What the hell did you do, Jeff?"

"I…" Jeff didn't even attempt to finish what he was going to say. He just closed his eyes in distress and let it breath out in a long, slow sigh. "I figured she'd go back inside. Back to Cena." He didn't bother hiding the bitterness as he said John's name. Matt scowled and folded his arms. "Cena left, with his _girlfriend_ just after your little outburst." Jeff's eyes snapped open and he looked at Matt with a shocked expression. Matt just lifted his eyebrows and waited in silence, letting his words sink in. He watched the full horror settle into his younger brother's face, watched as his mind came up with the only response it could think of. "Fuck!"

Jeff sat up, managing not to brain himself in the process this time. He was on his feet within half a second. "I need to talk to her." Matt grabbed his arm in an unbreakable grip before he could move very far. Jeff frowned, seeing the almost sympathetic look on his brother's face. "I don't think that would be a very good idea right now. Go and get ready to leave. We have to be at the airport in an hour."

Jeff wanted to protest, but Matt released his arm and left the gym, not giving him time to say anything. He swore and lashed out at the weight bench with his foot. He then sat on the end of it and put his head in his hands, running his fingers into his hair and gripping it tightly, as if he would rip it out from the roots. This whole thing had spiralled way out of control and now he couldn't get it back. He'd well and truly put the final nail in the coffin the previous night and only now, did he see how much that was going to cost him. And what was it going to cost Sevina?

The image of her, standing in the rain, looking at him with a broken expression, begging him not to rip them apart, was imprinted upon his mind, as if it were burned into the back of his eyelids. He saw it, every time he closed his eyes, every time he let his mind wander for even the briefest moment. She would never forgive him for that and he would never forgive himself. He shoved himself to his feet violently and stalked through the hotel to his room. He nudged the door with his foot and since the lock was still busted, it swung open easily. He'd forgotten to let the hotel know about the damage.

He didn't look around as he shoved his things into his battered suitcase. He knew he should never have agreed to come on the road. He should have stayed in Cameron, if he'd done that he'd be sitting at home right now, waiting for them to come back so they could have a party and hang out in the old ring at his dad's, just like they used to do. Nothing would be different, nothing would be broken and Sevina would not be a newly formed hole in his heart. Impulsive decision making, that was his problem. That was what had lost him his job, that was what had made Beth finally decide she'd had enough, that was what had ruined everything. He was like a tornado; he destroyed everything in his path without even pausing to survey the damage.

Matt called him just before they had to leave, to make sure he was ready. It was with a very heavy heart that he told him he was. He met him in the lobby, his eyes automatically searching for the blue haired diva, but she was nowhere in sight. Matt seemed to know what he was searching for. "She's gone ahead. She needed some time alone." Jeff nodded mutely, feeling another stab of guilt penetrate his heart. He walked silently beside his brother and Matt didn't know what to say. He'd spent the last hour trying to convince Sevina that she needed to come with them to Cameron. She needed to go home for a while, even if she spent the entire time at her house and didn't speak to either of them. Matt strongly suspected that this would be the case, but she couldn't escape that they all had to sit together on the plane. This was going to be the hardest flight he had ever endured…and he hated flying at the best of times.


	22. Chapter 22

The flight was worse than any of them could possibly have imagined. Sevina was already onboard when Matt and Jeff arrived. She was dressed in sweat pants and a baggy hoodie, her hair was in it's usual ponytail. Her eyes were covered by sunglasses and she had her ipod on, completely obliterating any chance of conversation. In her hand was a notebook and in the other was a pen, but she was using neither. She just stared out of the window. Jeff frowned as he saw the darkening bruise on her right temple and the slight graze on her cheek where she'd hit the floor. He looked at Matt, who said nothing, just sat down in the middle seat. Jeff hesitated before sitting beside his brother.

Matt felt extremely uncomfortable sitting between the two of them, but he remained vigilantly where he was, not even getting up to use the bathroom. He glanced at Sevina, she was still staring out of the window, doodling absently on the cover of her notebook, he could hear the buzz of her earphones and knew she had the music up pretty loud. He then glanced at Jeff, who was holding a notebook almost identical to Sevina's and scribbling away frantically. His hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, but some of it still fell forward into his face. Matt didn't even attempt to get a look at what his brother was writing. He could all too easily guess.

None of them talked through the three hour flight and to Matt if felt like a lifetime, stuck in a silent limbo. When they finally landed, Jeff practically shot out of his seat and off the plane. Matt looked at Sevina who was staring after the newly departed Hardy. Despite her sunglasses, Matt could see the very clear distress on her face. He sighed and stood up, holding a hand out to help her up. She said nothing as she took it. There was no sign of Jeff as they went to grab their luggage. Matt watched Sevina closely, noting the definite strain that there seemed to be in every movement she made. As they stood by the carousel, he spoke quietly to her. "Isn't there any way you guys can figure this out?"

Sevina reached out and grabbed her case at the moment, before shaking her head and looking at him, her navy eyes obscured by the sunglasses. "No, Matt. He made himself pretty clear."

"Vina, he was just jealous. He knows he was an idiot."

"Sorry, Matt." She didn't say anything else as she spotted Jeff walking towards them, so she turned and walked away, heading out to the parking lot to find her long suffering car. She loved her Mustang and felt bad that she was always having to leave it behind. She sighed as she settled into the driver's seat, then leaned forward, crossing her hands on the steering wheel and resting her forehead against them. When she rolled her head to the side and felt the pain from her bruise, it was as if it set off a trigger that sent flashes of the previous night into her head. She could feel herself starting to hyperventilate again, so she quickly turned the key and fired up the ignition, driving more carefully than usual.

Her house wasn't far from Matt's, she could see his yard from her bedroom balcony, but it was far enough that she didn't have to endure the sight of Jeff, who had opted to stay at his brother's instead of going back to his own house. There were too many bad memories there for him right now. Sevina could understand that. The last time he'd stayed in that house was the night he'd been raided. He'd stayed with his dad after that. The part of her that liked to forget everything that had happened, wanted to go and talk to Jeff about it, to see how he was and if being here was bringing up all the bad memories again. She wanted to hug him and tell him that it would be alright, but she knew differently now. She knew that it very definitely wouldn't be alright. Not for her, anyway. Not without him.

_Sevina, let me go!_

The words crashed into her brain and she barely made it through her front door before she broke down. Somewhere, in the haze of tears and pain, she made it to her downstairs bathroom. She sat on the floor in front of the full length mirror and stared at her reflection, finding herself lost in the memories of a happier time.

_-----_

"_Sevina! Over here!" Jeff jumped up and down excitedly, waving frantically at his friend. Matt was stood behind him, leaning against his car. They'd just returned from their first Wrestlemania and were both feeling very proud of themselves. Sevina ran over, almost knocking Jeff off his feet with the force of her hug. She hadn't seen them properly in almost a year and had missed them both. She'd been working in the Indy circuit, building her name, hoping to one day reach the heights that they had._

_Jeff always loved coming back to Cameron, it truly was his home and it always would be. He caught Sevina as she jumped at him and hugged her back just as fiercely as she hugged him. He laughed and swung her around, then leaned back to look at her, touching her hair, newly dyed blue. "Your hair grew out!"_

_Sevina had laughed and nodded before shaking her head, making the long tendrils fly around her face. "Yep. I got sick of having it short." Jeff had grinned at her, catching a lock of it between his fingers and examining it closely before letting it fall. "I really like it! You should keep it like that." They had then bundled into the backseat of Matt's car and headed off to Jeff's house. Sevina had never cut her hair short again after that._

_------_

The irrationality of despair gripped her as she looked at her reflection and she stood up, blindly groping through the bathroom cupboard until she found the scissors she was looking for. She then proceeded to cut off great chunks of her hair. She was crying and gasping for air as she hacked away at her well preened hair. When she was finished, she sat in the middle of the bathroom floor, surrounded by even locks of hair, the scissors now limp in her hand. Her wracking sobs echoed around the walls and it felt like they would never stop.

It hit her live a giant wave, the full understanding of _why_ it hurt so much. A future, without Jeff, was no future at all. It was something she couldn't even comprehend. She couldn't see through the fog of despair that settled over her brain and she didn't know how she could face moving, let alone going on with her life. He'd always been there, a certain point of brightness, guiding her through everything. His falls had hurt her as well and his highs had exhilarated her. Everything he felt, she felt it too. She had centred herself around him. She was close to Matt and loved him like a brother, but Jeff…he was like a gravitational force to her, a definite, unmovable matter. Solidly concreted in her life. In her heart. She loved Matt, but she was _in love _with Jeff.

Even just thinking it to herself set off another panic attack. She knew she was going to pass out again, she could feel it coming over her and she welcomed it. Welcome the blackness, the release. It may only be temporary, but it was a break from the pain in her heart, a break from the utter despair of knowing she had watched the most important person in her life, turn his back on her.

When she finally awoke, it was dark and it took her a few moments to realise that she was still on the bathroom floor. She winced at the coldness of the tiles under her cheek and slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. She stood and turned the light on. She took a tentative look at her reflection. It was bad. Her hair was hung in uneven lumps about her head. The longest sections were down to her shoulders, the shortest was just below her ears. She bit her lip as she looked at the mess she'd made of herself, then reached down and grabbed the scissors. With a calmness this time, she carefully began cutting her hair again. It ended up in a shaggy bob, sitting fairly evenly mid way up her ears. It suited her and she had been cutting her own hair since she was fifteen, so she knew what she was doing.

She set the scissors down and took a deep, slow breath. She knew she couldn't go on like this. Hiding here, letting the depression take her was not going to make things any better.

_Sevina, let me go!_

She winced as Jeff's voice rang in her ears and then she nodded, frowning at her reflection. "Okay. Okay, Jeff…I'll let you go." She turned and left the bathroom, heading up to her room. She knew Matt was having a party at his house and a lot of their friends were going to be there. She didn't want to, she could feel her mind rejecting it, but she was going. If she was going down, she was doing it with dignity and she would not make Jeff suffer. She wouldn't make him feel any more guilty that he already did.

_If you love someone, let them go…_


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N I have just decided that, instead of making this the longest fanfic in HISTORY, I will be writing a sequel when this one is done and…I might even write the prequel, to explain how the characters met. Not decided on that one yet. Anyway, enjoy. Please review! :)**

Chapter 23

Sevina entered Matt's house slowly, trying to ignore the nerves that were flying through her. She was dressed carefully in a pair of skinny fit black jeans and a navy blue, backless halter top. She took a deep breath as she walked in, looking around, feeling as if her life had slowed to a stop-frame. There were a lot of people already in the house and she saw quite a few that she knew. She smiled and nodded, but didn't stop to talk to anyone, she was looking for someone specific. Her eyes raked the various groups, clubbed together, chatting aimlessly and just generally enjoying themselves. It had been a long time since Matt had held one of his infamous house parties.

Sevina was acutely aware of the breeze on her neck, not yet accustomed to having her hair short. Her head felt strangely light and she tried to convince herself that it was all down to the haircut, because anything else would have been a major overreaction. She'd made her decision and although she knew that the hard part would executing her plans, she wasn't going to back out of it now. She moved easily through the crowds of people, not drawing too much attention apart from a few comments on the change to her hair. She simply smiled and shrugged off the questions. Her eyes continued to search, until she suddenly froze.

She stood perfectly still, but her heart seemed to take off at double time. She was at the doorway to the kitchen, there was an array of drinks set up in the centre island and it was there that her eyes focused. Jeff had dyed his hair again, it was now a midnight blue, almost matching her own, but it was definitely him and he looked thoroughly miserable. He was just stood, staring at the various bottles in front of him, looking utterly downtrodden. Sevina frowned, feeling the now familiar tug in her heart, but she ignored it. She was here to take that look away, to let him know that she was alright, that she'd survive and he didn't have to feel bad for her anymore.

She mustered her courage and approached him. He didn't see her. She reached out, lightly grasping the neck of one of the bottles, knowing it was his favourite beer. She lifted it up and held it in front of him. "This what you're looking for?" Jeff's head snapped up and he looked at her, at first with confusion and then with shock. "Vina…you cut your hair?" Sevina shrugged and handed him the beer after twisting the top off and throwing it into the bin. The actions were trivial, but they let her take her eyes off him for long enough to calm her breathing with had accelerated alarmingly. She took the short moments to get her reactions under control. Standing close to Jeff had always been easy, touching him had always been easy, so it was completely irrational that it now send electric shocks through her entire body.

She looked at him again and forced a smile onto her face. "You enjoying the party?" She was surprised at how effortless her voice sounded, when her insides felt like they were trying to twist themselves into knots. Jeff was clearly speechless for a few moments, seeming unable to form a response. The question was simple, but her eyes were intense and Jeff almost imagined he could see her asking for something from him in that gaze. She wanted him to do something. But, what? What was it that she needed from him? He didn't have time to figure it out as she flicked her eyes from him and reached out to grab a drink, resting her hand on his arm to steady herself as she leaned over.

The touch was nothing, it was an unconscious gesture and yet he felt as if his skin was on fire under her hand. This was ridiculous. He and Sevina had always, _always _had a tactile friendship. It was probably just the shock of her talking to him. After his behaviour last night and her determined silence on the plane, he'd never thought she'd look at him, let alone speak to him again. Yet, here she was. Same old Vina. Alright, so she'd cut her hair off and he couldn't help wondering when she'd done that, but she seemed perfectly at ease, there was very little to suggest otherwise. Jeff knew better though, he knew _her _better.

In the time it took her to get her drink, Deftones, Change (in the house of flies) came on the CD player. Jeff automatically looked at Sevina's face. He knew it was one of her favourite songs. She was looking towards the source of the noise, a small smile on her face. She then looked at Jeff and grabbed his hand. "Dance with me." He had no time to say anything as she dragged him into the lounge, which had been set aside for dancing. His mind was screaming alarm bells at him, knowing this was not a good idea. Letting himself be that close to her, was not a good idea, but instinct took over. He'd always danced with her and this should be no different. His arms went around her and he held her close to his body, ignoring the sense of peace that seemed to go over him. One of Sevina's arms went around his neck, the other rested on his chest, over his heart. The worst place she could possibly put it because her proximity caused it's beating to speed up erratically.

The song stretched out into forever and yet neither of them wanted it to stop. They both seemed to understand that this was a goodbye of sorts. Jeff didn't know why, but even as he held her close, he felt as if she was pulling away from him. But then, wasn't that what he had wanted? Hadn't he asked her, no, _told her_ to let him go?

The song abruptly changed, much to the annoyance of others and Jeff felt Sevina go rigid in his arms as Sinead O'Connor, Nothing Compares 2 U began to seep through the speakers. Jeff said nothing, but urged Sevina to relax in his arms, by resting his head against hers and bringing one of his hands up to curl around the one that was laid on his chest. It worked and he felt her lean into him. They had stopped moving, but neither seemed to notice. Both listened to the lyrics, just holding onto each other. Jeff wanted to say something, he wanted to find the words to put it right, to tell her the truth, but something held his tongue. Something stopped him. He hated himself more that ever in those moments because he could finally see where her mind had brought her. He could see that she believed his despair was guilt. That he was feeling bad for not wanting to be her friend anymore. How could one person get it so wrong?

_Because you made it seem that way._

The nasty voice in his head interjected and he sighed. Sevina heard him sigh and frowned. This wasn't how she wanted this to go. She didn't want to make him feel even worse and as the song faded out, she tilted her head back to look at him, forcing a bright smile onto her face. "Thanks Jeffro." She smirked, then stepped away from him. She could see the confusion on his face, but chose to pretend she didn't. "Now, drink!" She pointed towards the kitchen, before she turned smartly and headed off to find a very strong alcoholic beverage. Yes, a drink was exactly what she needed right now.

Jeff watched her go, feeling a mixture of confusion and frustration building in his chest. He looked around, his eyes settling on his brother. Matt walked slowly to his side, speaking quietly, so as not to be overheard. "Don't make this difficult for her, okay? This isn't how either of you wanted it, but maybe it has to be enough for now."

Jeff frowned at his older brother, then looked towards the kitchen again. "She cut her hair." Matt nodded, but said nothing. He had a pretty good idea of why she'd done that. He remembered very clearly the day that they had first seen her with long hair and he had noticed that she hadn't cut it short since then. Even back then, Jeff's opinion had mattered, she just didn't know why at the time. None of them had. Now they all knew, but none of them were saying it. Saying it out loud would make it real and neither Jeff nor Sevina was ready for that yet.

Sevina was sat in front of the island in the kitchen, drink in hand, talking to Shannon. She was laughing at him actually as he stuck two Pringles in his mouth and pretended to be a duck. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Jeff enter the room, but she didn't turn, she just focused on Shannon.

"Shan! Don't put that in the salsa! It's been in your mouth!" Shannon stopped, one of the Pringles half way to the salsa dip. He pouted at Sevina, then drew it back and threw it in the bin, along with the other one. Sevina shook her head at him and laughed. She stopped as a shadow fell over her and then looked up at Jeff with a bright smile. He didn't smile. "Come for a walk with me?" Shannon wolf whistled and Sevina stuck her finger in the salsa and flicked it at him, before hopping off her stool and nodding to Jeff. "Sure." She didn't want to. She wanted to stay in here where it was safe, where there were people to censor their conversation, but the look on his face was impossible to deny. He still looked desperately unhappy. She followed him outside. Her eyes met Matt's for the briefest moment and she saw the worry written there, but turned her eyes forwards again. She didn't know what was going to pass in this conversation, but she had a feeling it was necessary.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N For anyone who is reading this regularly (though only one of you is reviewing *shakes fist*) you probably wont like this chapter much. A bit of author's mischief as we come into what will probably be the last few chapters in this particular story. :P **

Chapter 24

They walked in silence for a while. Jeff seemed to have forgotten that Sevina was not exactly the most graceful woman outside of her performing persona and headed into the woods outside of Matt's house. She stumbled a couple of times, but Jeff didn't seem to notice. She scowled a little. "Hey, dude, slow down!" She complained. Jeff stopped and turned to her, looking as if he'd forgotten she was there. He frowned and walked back to her. He took her hand lightly, casually and both of them ignored the pulses it sent up their arms. He helped her over a fallen tree, but carried on walking until they reached a clearing, quite deep into the trees. Jeff finally released her hand and moved to sit on the grass. It was a little damp, but he didn't really care. He looked at Sevina and motioned for her to sit beside him. Never dropping her casual façade for a moment, Sevina screwed up her nose in distaste. "But Jeff, it's wet!"

Jeff growled a little and grabbed her hand, yanking her down beside him. She laughed and the sound was only a little forced, as she tumbled onto the grass next to him. She nudged him lightly and almost felt some of the weight leave her. It almost felt normal, for just a second, but as soon as her eyes met Jeff's, she knew it wasn't normal. He wasn't fooled. Not even for a second. There was something almost frightening about the intensity of his gaze, as if he could see right into her soul and pull out the information he wanted. Still, she wasn't about to break character. "What? Is there something on my face?" She began looking for what she already knew was a nonexistent entity on her face, running her fingers over her skin. Jeff's fingers suddenly closed over hers, drawing her hand down. Sevina's breath caught in her throat and she gave in. She sighed and dropped the act, letting her gaze fall from his. "Okay, Jeff…okay." It was almost whispered, but he heard it. Some treacherous part of him didn't want the act to end. He didn't want the pretence to stop because for a few moments it was like nothing had changed, but then she came too close, she looked at him for a second too long and he was swiftly reminded that things _had_ changed.

They both said nothing for the longest time. Neither was sure how to start this conversation, knowing how it would surely end. All both of them knew for certain was that they didn't want another argument. Finally, Sevina couldn't stand the silence anymore and she had to say something. She was still looking down as she spoke, very quietly. "I just…I want you to know, that I'm okay. I don't want you tearing yourself up over this. I thought, if I could be normal, if I could make you see I was alright, you wouldn't feel guilty." She hated how stupid she sounded, like some little girl with a crush. Her eyes were still downcast, so she didn't see the pained expression that crossed Jeff's face. He couldn't even find the words to tell her how wrong she was and maybe that was for the best. That was the last thing she needed to hear right now.

He reached over and put his hand under her chin, lifting her head up. He had to fight himself to do nothing more than that. He simply looked at her for a moment, before sighing and dropping his hand, looking away. "I'm not feeling guilty." He only realised how bad that sounded when he saw her eyes widen and then the hurt that flared up. He saw the colour rise in her cheeks and she stood up to leave. Jeff was on his feet instantly. He grabbed her arm to stop her. "Wait. I didn't mean it like that. I _am_ feeling guilty, but not for the reasons you think." Sevina pulled her arm free, a little harder than she had intended and frowned at him. She was quite clearly confused and had no idea what to think right now. Why had he brought her out here? If there was no chance of fixing this, why was he doing this? It was like he was a device of Satan, sent here with the intent of torturing her.

This wasn't going at all how he was intended, but then, he wasn't even sure what he had planned on saying to her when he got her out here.

_You're my best friend and I love you too much. I love you too much to screw up your life, like I did mine._

The thought was there, but he knew he wouldn't voice it. He'd done enough damage without adding that to her load as well. He wanted to tell her the truth, he really did because he knew that, in a month, a year, however long, she would meet someone and she would fall in love and he would just be the fool, looking on and knowing that he'd never told her. That was why he'd been fighting with Cena, even if he hadn't totally understood it at first. Alright, so this time it wasn't Cena, but one day it would be. One day it would be _somebody_ and that somebody wasn't Jeff Hardy. That somebody wasn't an incurable fuck up who couldn't get it right, not even once.

"Sevina, I don't want you to hate me." He could hear the pleading in his voice and frowned. He was looking at her with a burning gaze and Sevina felt herself catching on fire. She shook her head, doing anything she could to tear her eyes from his. "I don't hate you. I couldn't hate you, Jeff. That's one thing, I could never do." Some part of her silently begged him to hear what she was really saying.

_I love you. You're my best friend and I can't breathe without you. Stay, Jeff. Please stay._

She knew she couldn't say that to him, she wouldn't make this even worse for him than it clearly was already. She sighed and looked at the ground. Jeff felt an irrational burst of frustration and had to stop himself from grasping her chin and forcing her to look at him. He restrained himself. Touching her now would not be a good idea.

Had anyone been looking on, they would surely have seen the obvious torture they were putting themselves through. They would have burst through the trees, demanding that they tell each other the truth, that they admit to what they were feeling and on some level, had to know the other was feeling too, but there were no observers. No-one was going to rush in and save them from themselves. Somehow, they were going to have to figure this out on their own.

Jeff was shocked when he felt Sevina's arms going around his waist and felt her forehead press into his chest. His shock only lasted a moment, before his arms went around her. One of his hands threaded into her newly short hair and held her there, not wanting her to ever move. He could have sworn he heard her say; "Stay, Jeff. Please stay." but if she did, the words were so faint that it could have been something else. He held her tighter and was horrified to feel that she was shaking. Not from cold, but from the quiet sobs that were wracking her body. "Vina…Vina, it's okay. Don't cry, Kid." He'd seen her cry once, maybe twice, in all the years he'd known her and he was absolutely devastated to know that this time it was _him _that had made her cry. He didn't seem able to do anything right by her. When he'd walked away from her yesterday, he should have stayed away. He should have let her put on her little act and pretend that everything was normal. He should have let her go, not pulled her back to him as soon as he saw that his plans were working.

Sevina's fingers gripped the back of his shirt tightly, as if she would never let go. When he uttered the childish nickname that Matt and Jeff used for her, she wanted to scream. She wanted to vent all of her desperation and grief at him. She wanted to tell him not to call her that when he was effectively telling her goodbye. Oh, she knew they would still see each other, but this was the farewell to what they had been. She knew she couldn't be around him like she used to, she wouldn't be able to hug him or touch him without the kickback of pain. In so short a space of time, he'd gone from her best friend, to her worst enemy, to the man she loved, to…nothing. A friend, a person who would stand on the edges of her life and occasionally step within. How could he say it was okay? It wasn't okay! It was definitely not okay! It was everything, it was wrong and it hurt.

She knew she had to get out of here. She couldn't stay here anymore because if she did, she'd end up blurting everything out and begging him not to go. Begging him to stay here with her forever because she couldn't bear the reality of what was going to happen when they went back to that party. They both knew, though they didn't say it, that they would act as if nothing had ever happened. They would laugh and talk with their friends, all the time careful not to get too close, not to cross the very fine line that was the only truce they could reach.

_Stay, Jeff. Please stay._

She couldn't say it, no matter how much she wanted to and above her, Jeff was having a similar problem. He knew he was moments from crumbling and leaving his resolve in shreds. He was half a second away from telling her everything, getting down on his knees an begging her to stay with him to forgive him and to take him over whatever faceless man waited in her future to take her away from him completely.

_I love you too much._

At the moment when he thought he could stand it no more, Sevina suddenly pulled away from him. She wiped expertly at her face, removing any traces of smudged make up without even the use of a mirror. She took a deep breath, seeming to steady herself. She was staring at his chest and they both waited, waited for the inevitable moment.

Finally, navy eyes met emerald green and Sevina thought she'd break down right there. She didn't. She forced herself to keep strong. She moved swiftly, so as not to talk herself out of it. She reached up and placed a very light kiss on the corner of his mouth, before turning and half running from the clearing. Jeff didn't stop her. He was a little stunned by the kiss that wasn't a kiss and knew it was the closest he would ever get to her now. He watched her rapidly disappearing form and felt his heart contract with pain.

_If you love someone, let them go…_

**A/N Pleeeeeeease review! I want to know what you think! :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N This will be the penultimate chapter in this story and it may not go the way you've been expecting or hoping, so keep an eye out for the sequel, which will be called I'll Keep You… Enjoy. Please review :)**

Chapter 25

When Jeff walked back into Matt's house, he caught his brother's eye and it was clear that the older sibling had been waiting for him to return. He lifted his hand in a half wave, but didn't approach him. He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked through the hordes of people, making small talk when it was necessary. He wandered into the kitchen and stopped just outside the door, looking in. Sevina was stood, arguing with Shane about a tattoo that she wanted. Shannon was stood behind her, pulling faces. Jeff couldn't help but smile.

Sevina was a great lover of tattoos, but most of hers were easily covered. The argument with Shane, from what he could tell, was him trying to convince her to have her entire arm sleeved. Jeff knew she wouldn't go for that. She liked big tattoos, but she wasn't keen on having dramatic pictures on her skin. She liked simple designs, with words. She loved writing tattoos. Jeff knew that at the top of her left thigh, almost at her hip, she had the words 'Imag-I-Nation' and 'I Will Not Die' and on the inside of her right calf, she had a poem that Jeff had written. He'd been with her when Shane had done that and he'd hated every second of it. It had obviously hurt like holy hell, but she'd endured it and almost broken all the bones in Jeff's hand. At the time, Jeff had been flattered that she wanted something he'd done, inked onto her skin, but now it would only serve as a reminder of what was lost.

As he watched them, he could see Shannon running his fingers over Sevina's back. He was shocked until he realised that the other man's fingers were simply tracing the outline of the star on her right shoulder blade. She'd designed that one herself. It had been intended to be a Star of Mercury, but she'd replaced the six names of the devil, with the words 'Strength Beyond Strength.' It was one of her favourites, even though she couldn't actually see it. Jeff's eyes then picked up on the fact that Shannon was not in anyway involved in the conversation between Sevina and Shane, but his fingers continued to explore the tattoo, which was exposed by the backless halter Sevina was wearing and more to the point, Sevina didn't seem to notice or mind what he was doing.

Jeff was surprised by the strength of his own anger at what he was seeing. He wanted to go over there and rip his friend's hand away, telling him to never touch her again. He didn't, though. He kept his distance, a distance he must always now maintain. He couldn't interfere in her life anymore and as he watched her turn a beaming smile to Shannon, he felt his heart sink. Was that who she'd say yes to? Was that the man she would lean on now? Or someone else maybe? Jeff's eyes flicked around the crowds still gathered in the house. Would it be one of these nameless faces? He had to conclude that he would much rather it be a stranger to him, than one of his closest friends. He wasn't sure how he'd endure seeing her on the arm of someone he liked.

He moved away from the kitchen before he could torture himself anymore and as he disappeared from the doorway, Sevina's eyes flicked to it and she frowned. She could have sworn…no. No, she was just imagining things. Wishful thinking, maybe. Well, she had to stop thinking like that. Jeff wasn't hers to fawn after and she had a life she needed to get on with. She turned her attention back to Shane, leaning against Shannon slightly as he draped an arm over her shoulders. She laughed at Shane's insistence that she should have her arm sleeved, with portraits of Matt and Jeff, surrounded by the various WWE logos. Yes, that was exactly what she didn't need; Jeff's face forever imprinted into her skin so that she could everyday, look at what she'd lost.

Matt watched them both, with an increasing sense of frustration. He didn't know where they had gone, or what they had talked about, but when they'd come back it was like something had snapped. Sevina was too cheerful, too easily drawn into conversation and Jeff was quiet. Jeff was never quiet at Matt's parties. He was always teaming up with Shannon and Shane, up to no good and pulling pranks on the others. It was only when Matt saw Sevina talking to Shane and Shannon that he realised why Jeff wasn't with them. So that was the truce they'd drawn. They'd be happy and civil, just not together. Matt wanted to hit something. He wanted to rant and rave, scream and shout and bang their heads together until it knocked some sense into them.

The more rational part of his mind tried to soothe the beast. It reminded him that, at this juncture in Sevina's career, she did not need a complicated love life. She didn't need to spend her time worrying about what Jeff would think about her being involved in a romantic storyline with his brother. Jeff needed time to sort his head out, to get over the traumas he'd suffered in the last year and move on. They both just needed something simple, something easy. A get-out from what had promised to be a very difficult situation and this was what they'd arrived at. They were both adults and this was their choice.

Still, Matt couldn't help but feel they were being stupid. Anyone could see how they looked at each other, trouble was, they did it when the other wasn't looking. He growled in frustration and the girl that he'd been talking to edged away from him, looking worried. Matt smacked his palm to his forehead, then headed outside. He needed some air, before he grabbed either one or both of them and did something drastic. He sat down on the back steps to his house, beer in hand and took a deep breath of the crisp Cameron air. Man, he'd missed this place. Home meant different things, to different people. To Matt it was freedom, it was being able to completely let everything go and just be himself for a while. There were no film crews here, no cheering fans to impress. There was just, home.

He lifted his head as the door opened and someone sat down next to him. He smiled at Sevina and she smiled back. She shook her short hair from her eyes, then rested her head against his shoulder. "You okay, big brother?" Matt smiled again, unable to help himself. He turned his head to kiss Sevina's hair and nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. How about you, Kid?"

Sevina shrugged a little, not moving her head from his shoulder, though her hands were clasped tightly on top of her legs. Matt noticed, but didn't say anything. "You and Jeff okay?" He knew it was risky to bring it up, but he had to know. He had to know that they were going to be okay. Sevina lifted her head this time and looked at him. She nodded once and then a sad smile appeared on her face and Matt knew he was the only person who would see this chink in her armour. "We're fine. War over." Matt sighed, hearing how clearly unhappy this made her, because 'fine' meant, 'we're going to ignore each other as much as possible and pretend that we're okay.'

He put his arm around her and drew her into his side, planting another kiss on top of her head. "You could always tell him, Y'know." He felt her tense a little, before she shook her head, sighing slightly. "No, Matt. Neither of us needs that." She leaned away from him then and smiled, a little more genuinely this time. "Don't worry. It'll fix." Matt wasn't convinced and he wasn't sure that she had wanted him to be. She placed a hand on his shoulder and used it to push herself to her feet. She looked at him, then half shrugged, before painting her smile back on and walked inside.

Matt cursed under his breath and looked up at the sky. Why couldn't things just go back to how they were? Why couldn't they wake up in the morning and none of this ever have happened? Little did he know that the point, but he was going to get pretty close to his wish and then some. Though, this wasn't necessarily a good thing. Both Jeff and Sevina had been changed by this experience, so what would happen when they tried to be normal again? Could the wounds be healed or would things just get even worse for all of them?

They were going to find out, much sooner than any of them could have anticipated….

**A/N I don't like this chapter, it's a filler, leading onto the next one, which will be the final chapter of this story…I know, I know. It's tragic! However, I already have the first few chapters of the sequel typed up and will post it as soon as I'm done with this one. Enjoy and review please :D**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N This is the final chapter of this story and aren't I such a nice person that I don't make you wait long for it :D And I'm not going to make you wait for the sequel either. Look for I'll Keep You… which should be up soon after this. Enjoy and please review!**

Chapter 26

_Fall!_

_Now the dark begins to rise_

_Save your breath it's far from over_

_Leave the lost and dead behind_

_Now's your chance to run for cover_

The days of downtime flew by and they were soon back at work. Jeff travelled with them and the storm seemed to be over. Days, turned into weeks and Matt and Sevina's storyline heated up. Matt was now in a full rivalry against John Cena, seemingly all to gain Sevina's affection. Two faces fighting for a heel. Sevina seemed to be giving in to neither of them and the fans weren't sure whether they loved or hated her. She played her part well and really loved her job. She was living her dream and there was no hint, no small sign that all was not exactly how it should be. Though for all that she was riding a high, winning matches and fans, something was missing and she knew what it was.

The tension between herself and Jeff had ebbed away and they were able to be around one another again, but they still maintained a cool distance. They never touched. Never. Matt noticed and he wasn't the only one. Before, they had been happy to hug and beat each other up, playfully punch or even hold hands, the affection was obvious. Now it was gone. Everyone saw it, but they weren't stupid enough to comment or ask questions. None of their business.

As the weeks went on, the storyline got more and more involved, until it was time for the turn-around that would blow the whole thing open. Sevina was turning face. Two weeks more and she would expose her true 'character' to the world. Her mind was focused entirely on that, she refused to let it wander even the slightest bit, because when she did, she only thought of one thing, one face, one set of emerald eyes, one burning touch that she could never again feel and she didn't need that right now. She needed to focus on her career. She needed to do anything and everything she could to keep this up, to let the world know that she was alright.

Of course, it hadn't taken long for rumours to fly that there was something going on between herself and Jeff, but she was relying on the storyline to eradicate those suspicions. There was nothing between herself and Jeff Hardy and there never would be. Not now.

_I don't want to change the world_

_I just want to leave it colder_

_Light the fuse and burn it up_

_Take the path that leads to nowhere_

_All is lost again, but I'm not giving in_

Matt was uncertain. He wasn't sure what to make of Sevina or his brother. They were both trying to act normal and for all intents and purposes, it was working. They would talk casually and laugh at each other's jokes, but only as long as there were other people around. He'd walked into his locker room a week or so back to find them on opposite ends of the room, not talking, but as soon as they'd seen him, normality had resumed. What was worse, was Shannon's increasing presence. Matt had only just convinced Vince to let Jeff come backstage, but Shan had been welcomed with open arms and his friendship with Sevina was uncomfortable for Matt to witness.

Shannon would hold her hand, hug her after a match or simply throw an arm over her shoulders. In essence, he was doing all of the things that Jeff used to do and Matt wanted to scream at him sometimes. Wanted to tell him not to be so insensitive, shoving it down Jeff's throat, but then he reminded himself, Shannon didn't know. Only Matt knew what had gone on, aside from Sevina and Jeff themselves and he wasn't going to be the one to break the truce they had.

Work wise, Matt's life was great. He loved really getting into storylines and John made it easy to fall into the role. He was every bit as enthusiastic as Matt and the two had formed a strong friendship. They both found it hilarious that Sevina practically puked every time she had to kiss one of them on screen. Still though, he couldn't get the nagging doubts out of his mind. This peace couldn't last.

_I will not bow, I will not break_

_I will shut the world away_

Jeff felt like screaming most of the time. He wanted to grab Sevina and shake her. He wanted to tell her that this wasn't how he wanted things, that he wished he could take it all back and tell her the truth. He didn't. She was happy. Her career was sky-rocketing and her personal life was thriving. His jealousy of John Cena was gone, but it was swiftly replaced by one of his closest friends. Jeff loved Shannon like a brother, but now spent most of his days wanting to punch him, or kick him. Anything to get him away from Sevina. He didn't.

He watched them getting closer and closer, knowing it was only a matter of time. He kept his distance and hated himself for being the guy who sat back and let it happen. He watched as Sevina wrapped up her storyline with Matt, turning face, but choosing neither man. He watched as she spent increasing amounts of time with Shannon, to the point that he was visiting in almost every city they travelled to. When the announcement was finally made that they were dating, he wasn't surprised, but he was devastated.

He was the guy, he was the nameless face, the faceless form that had taken Jeff's place. Jeff shut himself away for a while. He didn't go to shows, he didn't call anyone or talk to anyone. He needed time. He needed space. He needed to let it out, to get it out of him somehow. He came close, in those first, unendurable days to leaning on his old fallback, to reaching for the substances that he knew would make it go away, but every time he was tempted, he saw Sevina's face in his mind, the day he's told her about him being arrested and he stopped. He couldn't have her and he couldn't be the friend to her that he had always been, but he would be the man she thought he was. He would be strong enough to endure this. He would be brave enough to see her happy and not hate the man she'd chosen.

_I will not fall, I will not fade_

_I will take your breath away_

Sevina had been nervous about telling Jeff that she was dating Shannon. She didn't know what she had expected, but he had barely reacted. He had smiled and nodded, said he was happy for her and then left. She didn't hear from him for a week and a half after that and some small part of her mind wondered if it was because of this new development, but quickly assured herself that that could not possibly be the case. Of course he would be happy for her, he was just having one of those moments that he sometimes had where he needed to break from everyone.

She couldn't dwell on it for long, still focusing on her work more than anything else and letting Shannon take up all the spare time that she had. She was in a number one contender race for the Woman's Championship. She battled on for weeks, trying to reach that elusive point, but as she had come close, it had been snatched from her hands. She couldn't feel bitter about it. She'd only been with the company for a few months and it was a little early to expect a real title shot. She had enjoyed the fight, she had thrived on the new support from the fans. She was beloved and that was what she had worked so many years to achieve. She could stand in the ring and flaunt at the crowd and they cheered, for her. This was her victory, but it was hollow somehow. It wasn't complete. Without her best friend it was almost meaningless. She knew she would have to reach greater and greater heights to get the same kick out of it that she always had, but even then, it would never be enough. There would always be a void that nothing could fill.

_Watch the end through dying eyes_

_Now the dark is taking over_

_Show me where forever dies_

Matt received his summons to Mr McMahon's office with a certain sense of trepidation. He had no idea what to expect or what the chairman could possibly want with him. What he got when he arrived there was more of a shock than anything he could ever, in his wildest dreams or even nightmares, have imagined. When he left, he felt like he was in a daze. He was sworn to secrecy and he hated that. All he wanted to do was run to Sevina's hotel room and tell her everything, tell her what McMahon had planned. She would be just as freaked out as he was.

He couldn't say anything though. If he did, he had no doubt that his job would be on the line. He tried to calm himself but remembering that it was all part of the job, just a career path that had to be taken. Still, this was huge! It felt wrong not telling Sevina about it. Not warning her about what awaited her.

_Take the fall and run to heaven,_

_All is lost again, but I'm not giving in_

Sevina arrived at Vince McMahon office in Conneticut, not really sure why she had been summoned. She approached the front desk and was immediately led to Vince's office. She lifted her eyebrows as the speed with which she was admitted. She'd seen the look on Matt's fast yesterday when he'd come out of here and she felt a lurch of anxiety at what that might meant for her. She looked at woman who let her into the office, clearly nervous as she stepped over the threshold.

She was shocked initially to see that she wasn't the only one who'd been summoned at that time. She was even more shocked to find that the two other superstars in the room with her were Glen Jacobs and Mark Calaway. She stared at them both for a moment, before Vince coughed conspicuously. Sevina's eyes snapped to him and she flushed. He simply motioned for her to take the only seat that remained. She did so, slowly, awkwardly. There was a long silence before Vince began to speak. Sevina listened, but was sure now that she had to be trapped in some kind of dream, that was mixed in with a nightmare.

She pinched herself on the arm, wincing, but did not wake up and as Vince handed her the bulky script, she had to admit that this was reality. She flicked through the pages, her eyes widening more and more as she read. Her head snapped up and she stared at Vince.

"What?! You can't be serious!"

_I will not bow,__ I will not break_

_I will shut the world away_

_I will not fall, I will not fade_

_I will take your breath away_

_And I'll survive, paranoid I have lost the will to change_

_And I am not proud, cold blooded, fake_

_I will shut the world away._

**A/N So that's it! What IS going on? Well, you'll have to read the sequel to find out :D Please review and thank you for reading this first ever fanfic of mine!**

**The lyrics in this chapter are from Breaing Benjamin - I Will Not Bow. As I stated at the beginning of this story, so shall I state it again at the end; I do not own WWE or infact anything of the characters in this story apart from Sevina. I do not own any of the music either. No copyright infrginement is intended.**


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